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Historical  Outlines  of 
English  Phonology  and 
Middle  English  Grammar 


FOR  COURSES  IN  CHAUCER,  MIDDLE 

ENGLISH,  AND  THE  HISTORY  OF 

THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE 


BY 

SAMUEL  MOORE 

University  of  Michigan 


Introduction:     The  Elements  of  Phonetics 
Part  I  Modern  English  Sounds. 

Part  II        The  Language  of  Chaucer. 
Part  III      The  History  of  English  Sounds. 
Part  IV       Historical  Development  of  Middle 

English  Inflections. 
Part  V         Middle  English  Dialects. 
Appendix:    Middle  English  Spelling. 


Price  $1.50 


GEORGE  WAHR,  Publisher 

Ann  Arbor,  Michigan 


The  Elements  of  Old 
English 


ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 

and 

REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 


By 

SAMUEL  MOORE 

University  of  Michigan 
and 

THOMAS  A.  KNOTT 

University  of  Chicago 


GEORGE   WAHR 

ANN  ARBOR,  MICHIGAN 
1919 


Copyright  1919 

By 
Samuel  Mooke 


PRINTtD    AND    lOUNB    tT 

OEOItOI    lANT*    PUtUSHINS     COMrANY 

MANUFACTURina    PUILMHERI 

MtHAtHA,    WItGONlIN 


PREFACE 

The  primary  purpose  of  the  authors  of  the  Elements  of  Old  English 
has  been  to  produce  an  introductory  book  which  will  facilitate  and 
expedite  the  teaching  and  study  of  Old  English  in  such  classes  as  their 
own,  composed  of  graduate  and  advanced  undergraduate  students. 
To  attain  this  object  we  have,  in  the  Elementary  Grammar,  selected 
and  arranged  the  essential  paradigms,  in  the  order  of  their  relative 
importance,  into  twenty-four  chapters  designed  as  progressive  lessons. 
In  this  part  of  the  book  the  less  frequent  variant  forms  have  been 
omitted.  All  the  grammatical  information  necessary  to  enable  a 
student  to  begin  reading  freely  is  contained  in  the  first  seven  chapters. 
Each  chapter  includes  a  reading  selection  adapted  to  the  advancing 
capacity  of  the  student,  and  accompanied  by  notes  explaining  those 
forms  which  have  not  yet  been  presented  systematically.  In  the 
chapters  the  primitive  and  prehistoric  Old  English  sound  changes 
have  been  explained  more  fully  on  a  historical  and  phonetic  basis 
than  is  usual  in  such  a  book  as  this,  partly  in  order  to  clarify  and 
rationalize  the  apparent  irregularities  of  the  inflections,  and  partly  in 
order  to  acquaint  elementary  students  with  the  methods  and  principles 
of  the  historical  study  of  language  and  linguistic  change.  In  the 
Reference  Grammar  is  given  a  systematic  and  ordered  treatment  of 
Old  English  phonology  and  morphology  which  serves  to  bridge  the 
gap  between  the  Elementary  Grammar  and  such  standard  grammars 
as  those  of  Cosijn,  Sievers,  Wright,  and  Biilbring.  It  was  originally 
intended  to  include  a  considerable  body  of  texts  wifli  notes  and 
glossary;  but  to  do  this  at  present  would  render  the  cost  of  the  book 
prohibitive. 

The  Elementary  Grammar  has  been  used  in  mimeographed  editions 
at  the  Universities  of  Chicago,  Michigan,  and  Wisconsin,  at  North- 
western University,  and  at  other  universities  and  colleges.  It  has 
been  twice  re-written,  and  is  now  issued  with  the  changes  suggested 
by  experience  and  criticism.  Further  criticisms  and  corrections  from 
instructors  and  students  will  be  welcomed. 

The  authors  hope,  not  perhaps  that  their  ejfforts  will  give  wide 
popularity  to  the  study  of  Old  English,  but  at  least  that  this  book 
will  render  that  study  more  purposeful,  significant,  and  attractive. 


2234749 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

EtEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 

Chapters  Pages 

Introduction — ^The  Old  English  Language 1 

I    Pronunciation 4 

II    Masculine  a-Declension 17 

III  Neuter  a-Declension;  Verbal  Endings 21 

IV  Feminine  o-Declension;  Verbal  Endings 24 

V    n-Stems;  been 27 

VI    Third  Personal  Pronoun;  Verbal  Endings 30 

VII    Declension  of  Adjectives 33 

VIII    Change  of  a  to  te  and  o;  tJes 37 

IX    Breaking;  ic  and  \>u 41 

X    Diphthongisation  by  Initial  Palatals;  hwa,  hw«t 44 

XI    Strong  Verbs:  Classes  I  and  II 47 

XII    Strong  Verbs:  Class  III SO 

XIII  Strong  Verbs:  Classes  IV  and  V 53 

XIV  Strong  Verbs:  Classes  VI  and  VII 56 

XV    Gemination  and  Umlaut 60 

XVI    Syncopated  Forms  of  Strong  Verbs;  Comparison 65 

XVII    Weak  Verbs:     Class  1 69 

XVIII    Weak  Verbs:  Class  1 75 

XIX    Strong  Verbs  with  j  Presents;  Numerals 80 

XX    Weak  Verbs:  Classes  II  and  III 84 

XXI    Anomalous  Verbs;  u-Declension 87 

XXII    Minor  Noim  Declensions 92 

XXIII    Preteritive-Present  Verbs 95 

XXrV     Contract  Verbs;  Review  of  Sound  Changes 100 

REFERENCE    GRAMMAR 

Phonology  (201-273) Ill 

Indo-European  Sounds  in  Germanic  (201) 112 

Vowels  (201) 112 

Consonants  (205) 113 

Grimm's  Law  (205) 113 

Vemer's  Law,  Grammatical  Change  (207) 115 

Primitive  Germanic  Vowel  Changes  (211) 116 

Germanic  Vowels  in  West  Germanic  (217) 118 

V 


Germanic  Consonants  in  West  Germanic  (220) 118 

Gemination  (221) 119 

West  Germanic  Sounds  in  Old  English  (224) 119 

Vowels  and  Diphthongs  (224) 119 

Consonants  (235) 122 

Prehistoric  Old  English  Changes  (241) 123 

Early  Consonant  Changes  (242) 123 

Vowel  Changes  (248-260) 125 

Breaking  (248) 125 

Diphthongisation  by  Initial  Palatals  (250) 126 

i-,  i-,  j-Umlaut  (251) 126 

U-,  0-,  a-Umlaut  (252) 128 

Unaccented  Vowels  (253) 129 

Syncopation  (258) 130 

Consonant  Changes  (261) 131 

f,  K  s  (261) 131 

h  (262) 131 

Late  Old  English  Changes  (264) 132 

Vowels  and  Diphthongs  (265) 133 

Consonants  (273) 134 

Morphology  (301-446) 135 

Declensions  (301-374) 135 

Nouns  (307-339) 137 

Masculine  a-Stems,  stan,  dte^  (307) 137 

Neuter  a-Stems,  lim,  ban,  (309) 138 

ja-Stems  (311) 139 

wa-Stems  (313) 140 

Feminine  5-Stems,  iiefa,  lar  (315) 141 

j6-Stems  (317) 142 

w5-Stems  (319) 143 

Stems  in  -iJH),  8trengl>u  (321) 143 

Stems  in  -in,  brsdu  (322) 144 

Stems  in  -ingo,  -ung5,  leomung  (323) 144 

i-Stems,  wine,  ^iest,  cwen  (324) 145 

u-Stems,  sunu,  duni  (328) 146 

n-Stems,  hunta,  tunge,  eage  (331) 147 

iz-,  az-Stems,  lamb  (334) 148 

r-Stems,  f aeder  (335) 149 

|»-Stems,  hieleb  (336) 149 

Root  Consonant  Stems,  mann  (337) 150 

nd-Stems,  freond,  hettend  (339) 151 

vi 


Pronouns  (340-350) 151 

Personal,  ic,  \>u,  he  (340-342) 151 

Reflexive  (343) 152 

Possessive  (344) 152 

Demonstrative,  se,  |>es  (345) 153 

Relative  (347) 153 

Interrogative  hwa,  hwaet  (348) 154 

Indefinite  (349) 154 

Adjectives  (351-369) 156 

Strong,  sum,  god  (352) 156 

Polysyllabic,  mani^,  hali|  (355) 157 

ja-,  jo-Stems,  midd,  grene  (356) 157 

wa-,  wo-Stems,  §earu  (358) 158 

i-Stems  (359) 158 

u-Stems  (360) 159 

Participles  (361) 159 

Weak,  g5da  (363) 159 

Comparison  of  Adjectives  (364) 160 

Numerals  (370) 162 

Adverbs  (375) 164 

Conjugation  (379-446) 166 

Verbs  (379-446) 166 

Strong  Verbs  (384-422) 168 

Class  1,  bidan  (385) 168 

Class  2,  beodan  (388) 169 

Class  3,  bindan,  delfan,  ceorfan  (392) 170 

Class  4,  beran  (399) 172 

Class  5,  metan  (402) 173 

Class  6,  dragan  (407) 174 

Class  7,  hatan,  beatan  (410)   , 175 

Strong  Verbs — Paradigms  (417) 177 

Personal  Endings  (418) 179 

Contract  Verbs,  teon,  etc.  (419) 180 

Syncopation  (421) 181 

Weak  Verbs  (423-438) 183 

Class  I,  fremman,  deman  (424) 183 

Without  Middle  Vowel,  teUan  (432) 187 

Class  II,  bodian  (434) 188 

Class  III,  habban,  Hbban  (436) 190 

Preteritive  Present  Verbs  (439) 192 

Anomalous  Verbs  (442) 194 

Glossary 199 

vii 

s 


INTRODUCTION 

The  Old  English  Language 
Old  English  (OE),  or  Anglo-Saxon,  as  it  is  often  called,  is 
the  name  given  to  the  English  language  before  the  year  iioo. 
The  documents  containing  what  we  have  left  of  the  language 
extend  from  about  700  to  about  iioo,  but  the  great  bulk  of 
them  represent  the  speech  from  900  to  1050.  The  language  was 
spoken  in  four  dialects:  Northumbrian,  Mercian,  Kentish, 
and  West-Saxon.  Most  of  the  manuscripts,  in  fact  all  those 
containing  anything  worth  reading  as  literature,  are  in  West- 
Saxon.  We  are  therefore  obliged  to  make  that  dialect  the 
basis  of  our  studies,  altho  in  the  main  Modern  Standard  Eng- 
lish is  descended  from  Mercian.  Three  important  prose  works 
in  West-Saxon  are  in  MSS  pf  about  900 — Alfred's  translation 
of  St.  Gregory's  Cura  Pasioralis  and  of  Orosius's  History  of 
the  World,  and  the  Parker  MS  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle. 
The  language  of  this  period  is  called  Early  West-Saxon  (EWS). 
The  works — largely  homilies — of  ^Elfric  and  Wulfstan  are  in 
contemporary  MSS  of  about  1050,  and  the  West-Saxon  Gospels 
are  of  about  the  same  date.  The  language  of  these  is  called 
Late  West-Saxon  (LWS).  As  the  norm  of  our  studies  we 
take  EWS,  and  consequently  all  the  selections  in  the  Ele- 
mentary Grammar  are  normalised  to  that  dialect. 

The  Alfredian  translations  of  Bede's  Ecclesiastical  History 
of  the  English  People,  and  of  Boethius's  De  Consolatione  Philo- 
sophiae  are  in  a  mixed  dialect,  and  the  poems  in  the  Exeter 
Book,  the  Vercelli  Book,  the  Beowulf  MS,  and  the  Ccedmon 
MS  are  not  in  pure  West-Saxon. 

1 


2  ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 

Old  English  and  Its  Related  Language 

The  names  of  actual  and  hypothetical  languages  frequently 
referred  to  in  works  on  OE  and  on  Germanic  Philology  are  as 
follows: 

Old  Frisian  (the  closest  of  the  Germanic  languages  to  OE) 
was  the  language  of  the  Frisians,  who  lived  on  the  islands  and 
the  coast  of  the  North  Sea  between  the  Rhine  and  the  Ems. 
The  earliest  documents  in  their  language  (chiefly  laws)  date 
from  about  1250  on. 

Old  Saxon  was  the  language  spoken  by  the  continental 
Saxons  thruout  nearly  the  whole  of  North  Germany.  The 
oldest  extended  document  is  a  metrical  paraphrase  of  a  Har- 
mony of  the  Gospels,  called  the  Heliand,  dating  from  about  800. 

Old  Dutch  is  known  from  a  few  fragments  of  a  translation 
of  the  Psalms,  of  doubtful  date,  possibly  before  1200. 

Old  High  German  is  known  from  about  750.  It  includes  a 
considerable  amount  of  material,  chiefly  religious,  partly  prose 
and  partly  poetry,  down  to  about  iioo.  It  falls  into  two  main 
groups  of  dialects:  Frankish,  which  was  spoken  in  the  west 
and  northwest;  and  Upper  German,  which  included  Alemanic 
(spoken  in  Switzerland)  and  Bavarian. 

Old  Norse  includes  the  dialects  spoken  in  Denmark,  Nor- 
way, Sweden,  and  Iceland  up  to  the  time  of  the  Reformation. 
The  earliest  records  of  Old  Norse  are  runic  inscriptions  dating 
from  the  third  century.  The  most  important  literature  is  in 
Icelandic,  which  is  known  from  a  rich  literature  preserved  in 
MSS  dating  from  about  1200  on. 

Gothic  is  known  from  rather  extensive  fragments  of  a 
translation  of  the  Bible  made  before  400  by  Wulfilas,  a  Gothic 
bishop,  for  the  East  Goths  along  the  Danube. 

All  these  languages  are  called  Germanic.  Gothic  is  called 
East  Germanic;  Old  Norse  is  called  North  Germanic;  and  Old 


INTRODUCTION  3 

High  German,  Old  Dutch,  Old  Saxon,  Old  Frisian,  and  Old 
English  are  called  West  Germanic. 

The  terms  Germanic  (Gmc)  and  West  Germanic  (WGmc) 
are  used  to  designate  not  only  groups  of  languages,  but  also 
the  hypothetical  reconstruction  of  the  parent  language  of  the 
group  as  it  existed  at  a  prehistoric  period.  Thus  the  term 
WGmc  is  applied  to  forms  or  sounds  which  we  must  presuppose 
at  the  period  when  we  may  presume  that  all  the  WGmc  lan- 
guages were  nearly  or  quite  identical.  The  term  Gmc  is  applied 
to  forms  or  sounds  of  the  period  at  which  we  may  presume  that 
all  the  Gmc  languages  were  nearly  identical.  Likewise,  the 
terms  Primitive  and  Prehistoric  OE  are  applied  to  hypothe- 
tically  reconstructed  stages  of  OE.  Primitive  OE  is  the  term 
that  we  apply  to  the  hypothetically  reconstructed  English 
language  before,  roughly,  the  year  500  a.d.  Prehistoric  OE 
is  the  term  that  we  apply  to  the  reconstructed  language  from 
about  500  to  about  700. 

Thus,  by  comparing  Gothic  stain-s.  Primitive  Old  Norse 
stain-a-R,  Old  Saxon  sten,  Old  High  German  stein,  and  OE 
Stan,  we  reconstruct  a  Primitive  Gmc  form  *staln-a-z.^  Like- 
wise, by  comparing  Gothic  domjan.  Old  Saxon  d5mian,  and 
OE  deman,  we  reconstruct  a  Primitive  OE  form  *d6mjan. 

Indo-European  (also  called  Indo-Germanic  and  sometimes 
Aryan)  is  a  term  applied  to  a  group  of  languages  which  includes 
Sanskrit,  Lithuanian,  the  Slavic  languages,  Latin,  Greek,  the 
Celtic  languages,  and  the  Germanic  languages.  The  term  is 
also  appHed  to  forms  and  sounds  hypothetically  reconstructed 
by  a  comparison  of  these  various  languages. 

1  Hypothetical  or  prehistoric  forms  are  preceded  by  an  asterisk. 


CHAPTER  I 

Pronunciation 

Elements  of  Phonetics 

1.  Speech-Sounds.  The  process  of  learning  the  pronuncia- 
tion of  Old  English  is  greatly  facilitated  by  learning  first  some 
elementary  facts  about  the  nature  of  speech-sounds  in  general. 
Speech-sounds  are  produced  by  a  stream  of  air  expelled  from 
the  lungs,  which  is  modified  in  various  ways  by  the  larynx, 
containing  the  vocal  cords;  the  soft  palate;  the  hard  palate; 
the  teeth;  the  lips;  the  tongue;  and  the  nasal  passage.  The 
hard  and  soft  palates  form  the  roof  of  the  mouth,  the  hard 
palate  being  in  front  and  the  soft  palate  behind.  By  the  varied 
activity  of  these  organs  the  various  consonant  and  vowel 
sounds  are  produced. 

2.  Voiced  and  Voiceless  Sounds.  With  reference  to  the 
activity  of  the  vocal  cords,  sounds  are  either  voiced  or  voiceless. 
All  speech-sounds  are  produced  by  the  expulsion  of  a  stream  of 
air  from  the  lungs.  In  the  production  of  a  voiceless  or  breath 
sound,  the  stream  of  air  from  the  lungs  passes  freely  thru  the 
larynx;  the  vocal  cords  are  relaxed  and  wide  open,  so  that  they 
offer  no  impediment  to  the  stream  of  air  and  therefore  do  not 
vibrate.  But  in  the  production  of  a  voiced  sound  the  vocal 
cords  are  drawn  close  together  so  that  they  are  caused  to 
vibrate  by  the  stream  of  air  which  passes  between  them.  This 
vibration  can  be  felt  by  placing  the  first  two  fingers  upon  the 
larynx  or  "Adam's  apple"  while  one  is  pronouncing  a  vowel 
or  the  consonant  v.    All  vowel  sounds  are  voiced,  but  con- 

4 


I 


PRONUNCIATION  5 

sonants  may  be  either  voiced  or  voiceless.  It  is  voice  that 
distinguishes  g  (as  in  get)  from  k,  d  from  t,  b  from  p,  v  from 
f,  z  from  s  (as  in  soon),  and  the  sound  of  th  in  then  from  the 
sound  of  th  in  thin.^ 

3.  Stops  and  Spirants.  With  reference  to  the  manner  of 
their  articulation,  consonants  are  distinguished  as  stopped 
consonants  (or  explosives)  and  open  consonants  or  spirants. 
In  the  production  of  stopped  consonants  the  outgo  of  breath 
from  the  lungs  is  stopped  at  some  point  by  the  complete  closing 
of  the  mouth  passage.  The  increasing  pressure  of  the  breath 
then  forces  open  the  stoppage,  causing  an  explosive  sound.  In 
the  production  of  open  consonants  or  spirants  the  mouth 
passage  is  not  completely  stopped,  but  the  air  from  the  lungs 
is  made  to  pass  thru  a  narrow  opening  with  so  much  friction 
as  to  cause  a  buzzing  or  hissing  noise.  Stopped  consonants 
are  Modern  English  g  (as  in  get),  k,  d,  t,  b,  p;  open  consonants 
are  z,  s  (as  in  soon),  th  (as  in  then),  th  (as  in  thin),  v,  f.' 

4.  The  complete  or  partial  closure  required  to  produce 
stops  or  open  consonants  is  made  by  means  of  the  tongue  or 
lips,  and  the  quality  of  the  various  sounds  is  determined  by 
the  manner  in  which  the  closure  is  made.  Modern  English  g 
(as  in  get)  and  k  are  produced  by  pressure  of  the  tongue  against 
the  soft  palate;  y  (as  in  yield)  is  made  by  an  incomplete  closure 

*  By  practice  one  may  soon  learn  to  distinguish  voiced  sounds  from  voice- 
less ones.  A  good  exercise  for  practice  is  to  pronounce  alternately  the  soimds 
of  s  and  z,  f  and  v,  and  the  two  soimds  of  th,  taking  care  to  pronoimce  the 
consonant  soimd  alone  without  the  aid  of  a  vowel.  The  sounds  of  t  and  d, 
p  and  b,  etc.,  when  pronounced  without  a  vowel,  will  also  be  felt  and  heard 
to  be  very  different  in  character.  It  will  also  be  observed  that  voiced  soimds, 
whether  vowels  or  consonants,  are  capable  of  being  uttered  with  variations  of 
musical  pitch,  whereas  voiceless  sounds  are  not.  Of  the  following  sounds, 
distinguish  those  that  are  voiced  from  those  that  arc  voiceless:  1,  m,  n,  r,  ah. 

'  Are  r,  sh,  and  y  open  consonants  or  stopped  consonants? 


6  ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 

between  the  tongue  and  the  hard  palate;  d  and  t  are  made  by 
pressure  of  the  front  of  the  tongue  against  the  ridge  above  the 
upper  teeth;  z  and  s  are  made  with  an  incomplete  closure  at 
the  same  point;  b  and  p  are  produced  by  means  of  a  closure  of 
the  two  lips;  v  and  f  are  produced  by  an  incomplete  closure 
between  the  lower  lip  and  the  upper  front  teeth;  th  (as  in  then) 
and  th  (as  in  thin)  are  produced  by  causing  air  to  pass  between 
the  tip  of  the  tongue  and  the  backs  or  edges  of  the  upper  front 
teeth. 

5.  According  to  the  place  of  their  formation  these  consonants 
are  therefore  classified  as  back  or  velar  consonants  (g,  k); 
front  or  palatal  consonants  (y  as  in  yield);  dental  consonants 
(d,  t,  z,  s,  th  as  in  then,  th  as  in  thin);  and  labial  consonants 
(b,  p,  V,  I). 

6.  Nasal  and  Oral  Consonants.  With  reference  to  the 
activity  of  the  nasal  passage,  consonants  are  classified  as  oral 
or  nasal.  All  of  the  consonants  mentioned  in  the  preceding 
paragraph  are  oral  consonants.  The  nasal  consonants  are 
m,  n,  and  ng  (as  in  thing).  In  the  articulation  of  the  oral 
consonants  the  passage  from  the  throat  to  the  nose  is  closed 
so  that  the  stream  of  air  emitted  by  the  lungs  can  escape  only 
thru  the  mouth.  In  the  articulation  of  the  nasal  consonants, 
however,  the  passage  from  the  throat  to  the  nose  is  left  open, 
so  that  air  can  escape  freely  thru  the  nose.  At  the  same  time 
the  mouth  passage  is  completely  stopped,  the  closure  being 
made  for  m,  n,  and  ng  precisely  as  for  b,  d,  and  g  respectively.* 

7.  Vowels.  Vowel  sounds  are  more  open  than  open  con- 
sonant sounds.  In  the  formation  of  an  open  consonant  a 
stream  of  air  is  made  to  pass  thru  an  opening  so  narrow  that 

*  Vowels  are  normally  oral  sounds,  but  they  become  nasalised  when  they 
are  pronounced  with  the  passage  from  the  throat  to  the  nose  open.  The  most 
familiar  examples  of  nasalised  vowels  are  those  of  Modem  French. 


PRONUNCIATION  7 

the  passage  of  the  air  causes  friction  and  therefore  noise.  In 
the  formation  of  a  vowel,  however,  the  opening  is  so  wide  that 
the  air  in  passing  thru  the  mouth  causes  no  friction  at  all. 

8.  Open  and  Close  Vowels.  But  the  vowel  sounds  are 
not  all  equally  open  in  their  formation.  If  one  pronounces  in 
order  the  vowel  sounds  of  the  words  hat,  hate,  heat,  he  will 
observe  that  in  pronouncing  each  of  these  successive  sounds 
the  tongue  is  closer  to  the  roof  of  the  mouth.  When  we  pro- 
nounce the  series,  the  tongue  starts  from  a  position  considerably 
below  the  roof  of  the  mouth  and  ends  in  a  position  quite  close 
to  the  roof  of  the  mouth.  This  can  be  felt,  and  it  can  also  be 
seen  by  pronouncing  the  sounds  before  a  mirror.  The  same 
thing  can  be  observed  in  regard  to  the  vowels  of  the  words 
law,  low,  loot.  As  we  pronounce  this  series  of  vowels,  we  can 
feel  the  tongue  going  higher  in  the  mouth,  and  we  can  see  it 
indirectly  by  watching  the  upward  movement  of  the  lower  jaw 
as  we  pronounce  the  three  sounds  before  a  mirror. 

9.  This  difference  in  openness  or  height  is  the  basis  of  one 
of  the  most  important  classifications  of  vowel  sounds.  We 
distinguish  at  least  three  degrees  in  the  height  of  vowel  sounds. 
If  the  to;ngue  is  quite  close  to  the  roof  of  the  mouth,  we  call 
the  vowel  a  high  vowel.  If  the  tongue  occupies  a  low  position 
in  the  mouth,  we  call  the  vowel  a  low  vowel.  If  the  tongue  is 
in  a  position  about  midway  between  its  extreme  high  position 
and  its  extreme  low  position,  we  call  the  vowel  a  mid  vowel. 
So  the  vowels  of  law  and  hat  are  low  vowels;  the  vowels  of  low 
and  hate  are  mid  vowels;  and  the  vowels  of  loot  and  heat  are 
high  vowels. 

10.  Back  and  Front  Vowels.  When  we  pronounce  in  suc- 
cession the  two  series  of  vowels  heard  in  law,  low,  loot,  and  hat, 
hate,  heat,  we  can  perceive  that  the  tongue  lies  differently  as 


8  ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 

we  utter  the  two  series.  When  we  pronounce  the  vowels  of 
law,  low,  loot,  it  is  the  back  of  the  tongue  that  is  closest  to  the 
roof  of  the  mouth.  When  we  pronounce  the  vowels  of  hat, 
hate,  heat,  it  is  the  front  of  the  tongue  that  is  closest  to  the  roof 
of  the  mouth.  This  can  be  felt,  and  it  can  also  be  seen  by 
looking  into  the  mouth  as  we  pronounce  the  two  series  of  sounds 
before  a  mirror.  We  therefore  call  the  vowels  of  law,  low, 
loot,  back  vowels,  and  the  vowels  of  hat,  hate,  heat,  front  vowels. 
This  is  the  second  basis  of  the  classification  of  vowel  sounds. 

11.  Combining  the  two  classifications  of  vowel  sounds,  we 
say  that  the  vowel  of  hat  is  a  low  front  vowel,  that  the  vowel 
of  hate  is  a  mid  front  vowel,  that  the  vowel  of  heat  is  a  high 
front  vowel,  that  the  vowel  of  law  is  a  low  back  vowel,  that  the 
vowel  of  low  is  a  mid  back  vowel,  and  that  the  vowel  of  loot 
is  a  high  back  vowel.^ 

12.  Round  and  Unround  Vowels.  If  one  pronounces  before 
a  mirror  the  two  series  of  vowel  sounds  heard  in  hat,  hate,  heat, 
and  law,  low,  loot,  he  will  see  that  the  action  of  the  lips  in  pro- 
nouncing the  two  series  is  not  the  same.  In  pronouncing  the 
first  series  the  corners  of  the  mouth  are  drawn  apart  so  as  to 
make  a  wide  opening.  But  in  pronouncing  the  second  series  the 
corners  of  the  mouth  are  drawn  together  so  as  to  make  a  more 
or  less  rounded  opening;  in  fact,  one  finds  that  he  cannot  pro- 
nounce this  series  of  vowels  with  the  corners  of  the  mouth  drawn 
apart.  We  therefore  make  a  further  distinction  between 
round  and  unround  vowels,  and  call  the  vowel  of  law  a  low  back 
round  vowel,  the  vowel  of  low  a  mid  back  round  vowel,  and 
the  vowel  of  loot  a  high  back  round  vowel.  The  vowels  of 
hat,  hate,  heat,  on  the  other  hand,  are  unround  vowels. 

'  Some  vowels,  for  example  a  in  English  Cuba,  e  in  German  gabe,  e  in  French 
je,  are  neither  front  vowels  nor  back  vowels.  They  occur  chiefly  in  unstressed 
syllables  and  are  generally  termed  mixed  vowels. 


PRONUNCIATION  9 

13.  Generally  speaking,  back  vowels  tend  to  be  round,  and 
front  vowels  to  be  unround.  But  unround  back  vowels  and 
round  front  vowels  also  occur.  The  vowel  of  Modern  English 
far  is  a  low  back  unround  or  a  mid  back  unround  vowel.  Front 
round  vowels  may  be  illustrated  by  German  kuhn  and  miissen, 
in  which  are  heard  the  long  and  short  varieties  of  the  high  front 
round  vowel.  The  vowel  of  kiikn  may  be  produced  by 
pronouncing  the  vowel  of  heat  with  the  lips  rounded  as  if  for 
pronouncing  the  vowel  of  loot.  The  vowel  of  miissen  may 
be  produced  by  pronouncing  the  vowel  of  hit  with  the  lips 
rounded  as  if  for  pronouncing  the  vowel  of  pull.  No  front 
round  vowels  occur  in  Modern  English,  but  the  two  sounds 
just  described  were  frequent  sounds  in  Old  English. 

14.  Long  and  Short  Vowels.  The  foregoing  classification 
of  vowel  sounds  has  reference  only  to  the  quality  of  vowels. 
But  vowels  differ  from  each  other  not  only  in  quality  but  also 
in  quantity  or  length  of  duration.  With  regard  to  quantity 
vowels  are  distinguished  as  long  and  short.®  In  Modern 
English  the  long  vowel  of  meet  differs  from  the  short  vowel  of 
met  not  only  in  quantity  but  also  in  quality,  the  former  being 
a  high  front  vowel  and  the  latter  a  mid  front  vowel.  Like- 
wise, the  long  vowel  of  loot  differs  from  the  short  vowel  of  look 
both  in  quality  and  in  quantity;  both  vowels  are  high  back 
round  vowels,  but  the  latter  is  slightly  lower  or  more  open  in 
its  formation  than  the  former.  On  the  other  hand,  the  long 
vowel  of  father  differs  from  the  short  vowel  of  hot  in  length  or 
duration  alone. 

•The  student  must  guard  against  the  phonetically  incorrect  use  of  the 
terms  "long"  and  "short"  as  they  are  applied  in  modem  English  dictionaries. 
The  vowel  in  mate  is  called  "long  a,"  and  the  vowel  in  mat  is  called  "short  a," 
but  the^two  vowels  are  not  the  long  and  short  varieties  of  the  same  sound; 
they  differ  in  quality  as  well  as  in  length. 


10  ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 

15.  Diphthongs.  A  diphthong  consists  of  two  vowels  pro- 
nounced in  a  single  syllable.  In  Modern  English  we  have 
diphthongs  in  the  words  foil,  foul,  and  file. 

Pronunciation  of  Old  English 

16.  Alphabet.  The  Old  English  alphabet  had  two  letters, 
|>  and  tJ,  which  are  not  contained  in  the  modern  English  alpha- 
bet. The  former  is  called  "thorn,"  and  the  latter  "crossed  d" 
or  "eth"  (th  as  in  then).  In  the  manuscripts  these  two  charac- 
ters are  used  indiscriminately  for  the  voiced  and  voiceless 
sounds  of  Modern  English  ///.  The  old  English  scribes  did 
not  use  the  letters  j,  q,  v,  and  z;  they  used  the  letter  k  only 
rarely.^ 

17.  Vowels.  The  Old  English  vowels  were  pronounced 
approximately  as  follows: 


a 

likeo 

in  hot* 

habban 

i 

a 

"  father 

stin 

» 

"   a 

"  hat 

ct 

& 

ai 

« 
atry 

i&d 

e.e» 

"   e 

"  met 

stelan,  b(dd 

e 

"    a 

"  fate 

deman 

i 

"   i 

"  bit 

Uton 

i 

"   i 

"  machine 

Utan 

'The  character  for  w  in  the  MSS  is  quite  different  from  the  modem 
English  character,  but  in  printed  texts  the  modem  w  is  substituted  for  it.  Most 
of  the  characters  in  the  OE  alphabet  were  more  or  less  different  in  shape  from 
those  of  the  modern  English  alphabet. 

*  The  "short  o"  of  hot,  not,  etc.,  as  pronounced  unrounded  in  most  parts  of 
the  United  States,  is  really  the  short  variety  of  the  a  in  father.  In  eastern 
New  England  and  England,  however,  the  ooi  hotis  rounded,  and  is  about  that 
of  short  o  in  Old  English. 

» f  is  a  character  used  by  some  editors  of  OE  texts  to  distinguish  the  e- 
sound  which  was  the  result  of  umlaut  (see  Chapter  XV).  The  MSS  have 
only  one  character,  e. 


PRONUNCIATION 


11 


o.q" 

'   au 

"   audacious 

holpen,  bond 

5 

o 

"  note 

d5m 

u 

*   u 

"  pull 

fnn 

fi 

'   oo 

"  doom 

tin 

y 

'    u 

"  German  miissen 

fyllan 

y 

'    iih 

"          "      kilhn 

tynan 

18.  With  regard  to  their  formation  (see  10-13),  u,  u,  o,  q, 
and  5  are  back  round  vowels;  a  and  a  are  back  unround  vowels. 
The  other  vowels  are  front  vowels;  y  and  y  are  front  round 
vowels;  i,  i,  e,  g,  e,  ae,  and  st  are  front  unround  vowels. 

19.  Diphthongs.  The  Old  English  diphthongs  were  pro- 
nounced approximately  as  follows: 


ea 

ea 

eo 

eo 

io" 

io" 

ic'2 

iei2 


like  a  in  hat  plus  a  in  Cuba  healp 

"    ai  "  airy  plus  a  in  Cuba  beam 

*'    e    "  met  plus  o  in  poetic  weorc 

"    a  **  fate  plus  o  in  poetic  beodan 

"    i    ^^  hit  plus  0  in  poetic  liornian 

"  machine  plus  o  in  poetic  Mode 

"  bit  plus  a  in  Cuba  ieldran 

"  machine  plus  a  in  Cuba  hieran 


These  diphthongs  were  usually  accented  on  the  first  element. 

20.  Consonants.     Old  English  b,  d,  1,  m,  n,  p,  t,  w,  and  x 

were  pronounced  approximately  as  in  Modern  English.  Double 
consonants,  however,  were  really  double,  as  in  Modern  English 
pen-knife,  book-case,  grab-bag,  as  distinguished  from  penny, 
bookish,  and  grabbing: — winnan,  bucca,  webba. 


"q  is  the  character  used  by  some  editors  of  OE  texts  for  the  o  which 
developed  from  a  before  nasals;  q  does  not  occur  in  the  MSS. 

"  io  and  io  occur  chiefly  in  EWS;  in  LWS  they  are  usually  represented  by 
eo  and  eo. 

"  ie  and  le  occur  chiefly  in  EWS;  in  LWS  they  are  usually  represented 
by  y.  i.  and  y,  i. 


12  ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 

21.  r  was  strongly  trilled  with  the  tip  of  the  tongue: — 
ridan,  faran,  xi. 

22.  eg  was  probably  pronounced  like  dg  in  Modern  English 
bridge: — brycg,  licgan. 

23.  f,  s,  and  l>,  tJ  represent  respectively  the  sounds  of  f  in 
father,  s  in  soon,  and  th  in  thin: 

(a)  Initially: — f seder,  sona,  \>anc,  tJser. 

(b)  Finally: — staef,  w«s,  swaej),  atJ. 

(c)  Before  voiceless  consonants: — eft,  faest,  haesp. 

(d)  When  doubled: — Offa,  maesse,  sil^l^an,  o'S'Se. 

f,  s,  and  |),  tJ  represent  respectively  the  sounds  of  v  in  over, 
z  in  prize,  and  th  in  then: 

(a)  Between  vowels: — ofer,  risan,  swi]7e,  cwetJan. 

(b)  Between  vowels  and  voiced  consonants: — healfe,  haefde, 
busies,  hse)>naii,  eor'Se.^^ 

24.  Old  English  g  represents  two  sounds,  a  front  (or  palatal) 
open  consonant,  and  a  back  (or  velar)  open  consonant.  The 
front  sound  was  that  of  y  in  Modern  English  yield.  The  back 
sound  was  that  of  g  in  North  German  sagen.  This  sound  may 
be  acquired  in  either  of  two  ways:  by  pronouncing  the  vowel 
of  Modern  English  loot  without  rounding  of  the  lips  and  with 
the  tongue  so  close  to  the  roof  of  the  mouth  that  a  buzzing 
sound  instead  of  a  clear  vowel  is  produced;  or  by  relaxing  the 
contact  between  the  tongue  and  the  roof  of  the  mouth  while 
one  pronounces  the  g  of  Modern  English  goose}^    In  this  book 

"  f,  s,  and  l>,  ?J  at  Ihe  beginning  or  end  of  elements  of  compound  words 
were  pronounced  as  if  the  elements  of  the  compound  were  separate  words: 
of-hnann,  S-sittan,  ^e-s£ct,  o'S-Iaedan,  a-ferian. 

"  If  one  is  unable  to  acquire  this  sound  he  may  substitute  for  it  the  stop 
^  in  Modern  English  goose. 


PRONUNCIATION  13 

the  front  or  palatal  sound  of  g  is  indicated  by  a  dot  over  the 
letter.     The  back  sound  is  left  unmarked. 

25.  ^  has  the  front  or  palatal  sound,  that  of  y  in  Modern 
English  yield: 

(a)  Initially  before  e/'  e/^  i,  i,  ea,  ea,  eo,  eo,  io,  io,  ie, 
ie: — geworden,  §e,  gift,  gisel,  ieaf,  §eafon,  ^eorn, 
^eotan,  giefan,  glet. 

(b)  At  the  end  of  a  word  or  syllable  when  preceded  by 
a  front  vowel  (ae,  se,  e,  e,  i,  or  i): — mae§,  mse^, 
we^,  sweg,  halig,  wig;  saegde,  bregdan. 

(c)  Medially  between  front  vowels: — dae^es,  wages, 
sti^e. 

(d)  When  originally  followed  in  Prehistoric  OE  by 
i,  1,  or  j^^ — bie^an,  byr^. 

26.  In  all  other  cases  except  those  specified  in  the  preceding 
paragraph  g  has  the  back  sound: — gatu,  ges,  gyrdan,  god, 
god,  guma,  gu'S,  glidan,  grinnan,  dagas,  dagum,  fag. 

27.  Old  English  c  also  represented  two  sounds,  a  back 
(or  velar)  consonant  and  a  front  or  palatal  consonant.  The 
back  sound  was  that  of  k.  The  front  sound  was  probably 
that  of  ch  in  Modern  English  chalk,  teachy  In  this  book  the 
front  or  palatal  sound  of  c  is  indicated  by  a  dot  over  the  letter. 
The  back  sound  is  left  unmarked. 

"  Unless  the  e  or  e  is  the  result  of  umlaut  (see  Chapter  XV). 

'•  The  character  j,  wherever  it  is  employed  in  this  book,  has  the  value  of 
j  in  Modern  German  Jahr,  which  is  that  of  y  in  Modem  English  yidd.  It  is 
therefore  preferable  to  call  the  sound  by  the  German  name  of  the  character, 
"yot,"  rather  than  by  its  English  name,  "jay." 

"  Palatal  c  was  at  first  a  stop  consonant,  similar  to  the  k  in  Modern 
English  kid,  but  with  the  stoppage  made  considerably  farther  forward  in  the 
mouth.  Later  it  developed  in  the  WS  dialect  into  the  sound  of  ch  as  in  church. 
It  is  probable  that  it  had  reached  the  ch  stage  before  the  year  900. 


14  ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 

28.  c  has  the  front  or  palatal  sound,  that  of  ch  in  Modern 
English  chalk: 

(a)  Initially  before  e,"  e^*,  i,  i,  ea,  ea,  eo,  eo,  io,  io,  ie, 

ie: — cild,    cidan,    cealc,    ceapman,    ceorl,   ceosan, 

'  ciest,     ciese     (compare     Modern     English    child, 

chide,  chalk,  chapman,  churl,  choose,  chest,  cheese). 

(b)  Finally  after  i,  i: — ic,  die,  swelc  (from  *8walic). 

(c)  When  originally  followed  in  Prehistoric  OE  by  i,  i,  or 

j: — secan,  'Sencan,  cirice. 

29.  In  all  other  cases  except  those  specified  in  the  preceding 
paragraph  c  has  the  sound  of  k: — calan,  cennan,  com,  cuman, 
cyning,  ac,  cr^eft. 

30.  ng  was  pronounced  as  in  Modern  English  finger,  not 
as  in  ring: — hunger,  singan,  'Sing.^' 

31.  8C  probably  had  the  sound  of  sh^"  in  Modern  English 
ship: — scip,  scinan,  scrud,  sceal,  fisc  (compare  ship,  shine, 
shroud,  shall,  fish). ^ 

32.  h  represented  two  sounds: 

(a)  Initially  before  vowels  it  was  pronounced  like  h  in 
Modern  English  hand: — hand,  hus. 

(b)  Before  consonants  and  after  vowels  it  was  pro- 
nounced like  ch  in  German  ich,  macht: — niht, 
sohte,  seah,  feoh,  hraefn. 

'*  Unless  the  e  or  e  is  the  result  of  umlaut  (see  Chapter  XV). 

"  When  it  was  followed  in  Prehistoric  OE  by  i,  i,  or  j,  ng  appears  to  have 
had  the  sound  of  ng  as  in  singe;  this  sound  of  ng,  however,  is  of  very  little 
importance  in  the  later  history  of  the  language  and  is  not  marked  in  this  book. 

^''In  the  opinion  of  some  scholars,  however,  the  pronunciation  was  that 
of  s  followed  by  the  k  sound  described  above  in  note  17. 

"  8c,  however,  had  the  sound  of  sk  in  a  few  late  loan  words  and  in  a  few 
words  in  which  late  metathesis  (transposition  of  sounds)  had  occurred:  scol 
(from  Latin  schola),  ascian  (from  acsian). 


PRONUNCIATION  IS 

33.  To  summarise  briefly  the  preceding  paragraphs,  the 
Old  English  consonants  were  pronounced  approximately  as 
follows: 

c like  ch  in  chalk 

c "     c     *'    call 

eg "     dg  "    bridge 

f       initially,   finally,    and   before 

voiceless  consonants      .       "     f     ''  father 
I      between  vowels,  or  between 
vowels  and  voiced  conson- 
ants       "        y       "      Qljgjr 

ff         a    I    u  j^ff^gj, 

§  "     y    "    yield 

g "     g    "    German  sagen 

h      initially  before  vowels     .     .      "     h    "    hand 

h      before   consonants  and  after 

vowels "    ch  "    German  ich,  macht 

ng "     ng "    finger 

r  strongly  trilled  with  the  tip  of 
the  tongue 

8       initially,   finally,    and   before 

voiceless  consonants     .     .   "     s    **    soon 

s      between  vowels,  or  between 
vowels  and  voiced  conson- 
ants      "     z     "    prize 

8C "     sh  "    ship 

ss "     s    "    soon 

I>,  H  initially,  finally,  and  before 

voiceless  consonants     .     .  "     th  "    thin 

1>,  tJ  between  vowels,  or  between 
vowels  and  voiced  conson- 
ants      "     th  "    then 

M), «« "     th  "    thin 


16  ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 

The  other  consonants  were  pronounced  approximately  as  in 
Modern  English. 

Accentuation 

34.  The  following  rules  in  regard  to  accentuation,  tho  they 
are  not  exhaustive,  will  sufl&ce  for  the  reading  of  Old  English 
prose;  the  minor  details  of  accentuation  are  best  learned  in 
connection  with  the  study  of  poetical  texts. 

35.  Simple  words  (i.e.,  those  which  are  not  compounds)  are 
accented  on  the  first  syllable: — feeder,  sae^de,  liifian,  cwetJende, 
leornode,  leornunga. 

36.  Compound  nouns,  adjectives,  and  adverbs  are  accented 
on  the  first  syllable  of  the  first  element  of  the  compound  unless 
the  first  element  is  be-,  ge,  or  for-: — corn-hus,  dea})-stede, 
to-weard,  earfotJ-lice,  be-bod,  ^e-feoht,  for-bod.  Compound 
verbs  are  accented  on  the-fltst  syllable  of  the  second  element 
of  the  compound: — witJ-stondaii,  a-risan,  on-fon.'^ 

**  As  an  alternative  to  the  ndes  given  in  the  text,  the  following  may  be 
serviceable: 

Rule:  Accent  the  first  syllable. 

Exceptions:  (1)  Accent  the  root  syllable  of  all  verbal  compounds. 

(2)  Accent  the  root  syllable  of  all  other  compounds  beginning 
with  be-,  ie-,  or  for-. 


CHAPTER  II 

Masculine  a-DECLENSiON 

37.  Cases.  Old  English  has  five  cases,  nominative,  geni- 
tive, dative,  accusative,  and  instrumental.  The  instrumental  is 
the  case  which  denotes  agency,  means,  or  instrument;  it  is  also 
used  after  some  prepositions.  In  the  declension  of  nouns  it 
does  not  dififer  in  form  from  the  dative,  but  there  are  different 
forms  for  the  two  cases  in  the  masculine  and  neuter  singular  of 
the  definite  article  and  of  the  strong  adjective. 

38.  Genders.  Old  English  has  three  genders,  masculine, 
feminine,  and  neuter,  which,  like  those  of  Modern  German,  are 
not  dependent  on  sex.  For  example,  mut$,  mouth,  is  masculine, 
tunge,  tongue,  is  feminine,  and  cage,  eye,  is  neuter. 

39.  The  masculine  a-declension  (also  called  the  strong 
masculine  declension)  includes  nearly  all  masculine  nouns 
which  end  in  a  consonant  or  in  -e.  Typical  examples  are 
se  Stan,  se  dael,  se  engel,  and  se  ende,  for  the  declension  of 
which  see  41  below. 

This  declension  includes  "a-stems,"  "ja-stems,"  and  "wa-stems."  For 
a  systematic  treatment  of  these  see  the  Reference  Grammar  (307-313). 

40.  The  definite  article,  of  which  the  masculine  nominative 
form  is  se,  has  two  uses;  it  is  either  a  definite  article  or  a  demon- 
strative. For  example,  se  stan  means  either  the  stone  or  that 
stone.  When,  as  is  usually  the  case,  it  modifies  a  noun,  it 
agrees  with  that  noun  in  gender,  number,  and  case.     It  may 

17 


18 


ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 


also,  however,  be  used  as  a  pronoun,  and  when  so  used  it  agrees 
with  its  antecedent  in  gender  and  number,  but  has  the  case 
which  is  demanded  by  its  construction  in  the  sentence.  For 
example,  Ic  seah  tSGne  monn  in  t$am  f elde ;  se  is  god  t^eow ; 
/  saw  the  man  in  the  field;  he  (or  that  man)  is  a  good  servant. 

41.  Paradigms  of  se  stan,  the  stone;  se  dx^y  the  day;  se 
engel,  the  angel;  and  se  ende,  the  end: 


Sing. 

Endings 

Nom. 

se  Stan 

dsi 

engel 

ende 

—      -e 

Gen. 

Sss  stanes 

dsies 

engles 

endes 

-es      -es 

Dat. 

tS£m  (9am)  stane 

dae^e 

engle 

ende 

-e       -e 

Ace. 

tSone  Stan 

dae^ 

engel 

ende 

—      -e 

Inst. 

Zy  (t!on,  Se)  stane 

dseie 

engle 

ende 

-e       -e 

Plur. 

Nom. 

,  Ace. 

tSa  stanas 

dagas 

englas 

endas 

-as      -as 

Gen. 

tSara  stana 

daga 

engla 

enda 

-a       -a 

Dat., 

Inst. 

Vsbm  (tSam)  stanum 

dagum 

englum 

endum 

-um    -um 

42.  The  interchange  of  ae  and  a  which  appears  in  the 
paradigm  of  dag[  is  the  result  of  the  fact  that  in  a  very  early 
stage  of  Prehistoric  Old  English  the  vowel  a  changed  to  ae  except 
when  it  occurred  before  a  single  consonant  followed  by  a,  o, 
or  u.*'  It  will  be  observed  that  the  inflected  forms  of  engel 
lack  the  vowel  which  appears  in  the  second  syllable  of  the  unin- 
flected  form;  this  variation  is  frequent,  but  not  universal,  in 
the  declension  of  dissyllabic  masculine  nouns  which  end  in  a 
consonant. 

43.  Plurals  in  -e.  A  few  nouns  (chiefly  names  of  tribes 
or  peoples)  form  their  Nom.  Ace.  Plur.  in  -e  instead  of  -as. 


**  Further  detaik  in  regard  to  this  sound  eluinge  will  be  given  in  Chapter 


vin. 


MASCULINE  a- DECLENSION  19 

For  example,   Dene,    Danes,  and   Engle,    (the)    English,   are 
declined  as  follows: 

Plur.  Nom.,  Ace.  Dene  Engle 

Gen.  Dena  Engla 

Dat.,  Inst.  Denum         Englum 

These  nouns  are  "i-stems";  for  further  details  in  regard  to  them  see  the 
Reference  Grammar  (324). 

44.  Verbs.  The  Old  English  verb  has  (in  addition  to  the 
infinitive  and  participles)  three  moods,  the  indicative,  the 
subjunctive,  and  the  imperative.  It  has  two  tenses,  the  present 
and  the  preterit  (or  past),  and  each  tense  has  two  numbers, 
singular  and  plural. 

Reading 

45.  To  ])aes  ae'Selinges  hame  wseron  fela  wera  gegaderod. 
J)a  eorlas  haefdon  J^a  mecas  and  J)a  helmas  J^ara  Dena,  jja  J?e 
hie  on  ))aem  campe  ofercomon.  Sum  geong  eorl  haefde  }jone 
hafoc  mid  Sam  'Se  he  fuglas  gefeng.  Swa  eac  waeron  ))aer  )?a 
ierSlingas  j^e  on  hserfeste  of  J^am  aecerum  waestmas  aladdon, 
and  Jja  fisceras  \)t  on  batum  fiscas  gefengon. 

The  notes  to  the  reading  selections  are  intended  to  explain 
all  grammatical  forms  which  the  student  has  not  yet  learned, 
except  those  which  are  explained  by  cross  references  in  the 
Glossary  at  the  end  of  the  book. 

hame,  the  more  frequent  dat.  sing,  of  this  word  is  ham. 
wieron,  pret.  ind.  3  person  plur.  of  wesan. 

fela,  an  indeclinable  neuter,  many,  much,  is  followed  by  the  genitive, 
gegaderod,  past  participle  of  ^egaderian. 
haefdon,  pret.  ind.  3  person  plur.  of  habban. 

J>a  l>e,  whom;  the  demonstrative  se,  either  accompanied  or  not  by  the 
relative  particle  |»e,  is  used  as  a  relative  pronoun. 

hie,  they,  nom.  plur.  of  the  third  personal  pronoun,  he. 


20  ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 

ofercomon,  pret.  ind.  3  person  plur.  of  ofercuman. 

htefde,  pret.  ind.  3  person  sing,  of  habban. 

9am  9e,  see  note  on  ]>a  )>e  above. 

^efeng,  pret.  ind.  3  person  sing,  of  iefon. 

a^eddon,  pret.  ind.  3  person  plur.  of  aUedan. 

)>e,  the  indeclinable  relative  particle,  who,  which,  that. 

iefengon,  pret.  ind.  3  person  plur.  of  ^efon. 


CHAPTER  III 

Neuter  a-DECLENSiON 
Verbal  Endings 

46.  The  neuter  a-declension  (also  called  the  strong  neuter 
declension)  includes  nearly  all  neuter  nouns  which  end  in  a 
consonant  or  -e. 

This  declension  includes  "a-stems,"  "ja-stems,"  and  "wa-stems."  For 
a  systematic  treatment  of  these  see  the  Reference  Grammar  (312,  314). 

47.  Paradigms  of  tSast  lim,  the  limb;  'Sxt  ban,  the  bone; 
'Saet  word,  the  word;  'Sast  rice,  the  kingdom;  and  tJtet  tungol, 

the  star: 


Sing. 

Endings 

Nom. 

tStet  lim 

ban 

word 

riee 

tan^I 

—      -e 

Gen. 

9«es  limes 

banes 

wordes 

rices 

tangles 

-es     -e» 

Dat. 

tSaem  (tSam)  lime 

bane 

worde 

rice 

tangle 

-e       -e 

Ace. 

tS«t  lim 

ban 

word 

rice 

tangol 

—       -e 

Inst. 

tSy  (9on,  9e)  lime 

bane 

worde 

rice 

tangle 

-e       -e 

Plur. 

Nom., 

,  Ace.  tJa  lima 

ban 

word 

rica 

tangol. 

-u, a 

tangla 

Gen. 

Qara  lima 

bana 

worda 

rica 

tangla 

•a       -a 

Dat., 

Inst 

.  tSsem  (9am)  Hmnm 

banam  wordam  ri£am 

tanglam 

-am    -am 

48.  Monosyllabic  neuters  have  the  ending  -u  in  the  Nom. 
Ace.  Plur.  when,  as  in  lim,  the  stem  of  the  word  is  a  short 
syllable ;  a  syllable  is  short  when  it  is  contains  a  short  vowel  or 
short  diphthong  followed  by  a  single  consonant.  Monosyllabic 
neuters  are  without  ending  in  the  Nom.  Ace.  Plur.  when,  as  in 
ban  or  word,  the  stem  is  a  long  syllable;  a  syllable  is  long  when 

21 


22  ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 

it  contains  a  long  vowel  or  long  diphthong,  or  a  short  vowel 
or  short  diphthong  followed  by  more  than  one  consonant. 

Dissyllabic  neuters  ending  in  -e  are  declined  like  rice.  Dissyllabic  neuters 
ending  in  a  consonant  sometimes  have  and  sometimes  do  not  have  the  ending 
-u  in  the  Nom.  Ace.  Plur.  It  will  be  observed  that  the  inflected  forms  of  tungol 
lack  the  vowel  which  appears  in  the  second  syllable  of  the  uninflected  form; 
this  variation  is  frequent,  but  not  universal,  in  the  declension  of  dissyllabic 
neuter  noims  which  end  in  a  consonant. 

49.  Weak  Verbs.  In  Old  English,  as  in  all  other  Germanic 
languages,  there  are  two  conjugations  of  verbs,  the  strong  and 
the  weak.  Weak  verbs  form  their  preterit  by  means  of  a 
suffix  containing  d  or  t  followed  by  endings  indicative  of  person 
and  number.  In  some  verbs  the  suffix  is  added  directly  to  the 
stem,  in  other  verbs  a  middle  vowel,  e  or  o,  intervenes  between 
the  stem  and  the  suffix.  The  ending  may  therefore  be  -ede, 
-de,  -te,  or  -ode.  The  past  participle  of  weak  verbs  is  formed 
by  the  addition  of  d  or  t,  usually  preceded  by  the  vowel  e  or  o 
but  sometimes  added  directly  to  the  stem.  The  ending  may 
therefore  be  -ed,  -d,  -t,  or  -od. 

50.  Principal  Parts.  The  principal  parts  of  a  weak  verb 
are:  (1)  the  infinitive,  (2)  the  preterit  indicative  first  person 
singular,  (3)  the  past  participle.  Following  are  the  principal 
parts  of  fremman,  make;  nerian,  save;  deman,  judge;  Isedan, 
lead;  secan,  seek;  lufian,  love;  habban,  have: 


fremm-an 

frem-e-de 

frem-ed 

ner-ian 

ner-e-de 

ner-ed 

dem-an 

dem-de 

dem-ed 

Ised-an 

labd-de 

yid-ed 

sec-an 

soh-te 

soh-t 

luf-ian 

luf-o-de 

luf-od 

habb-an 

hief-de 

ha^f-d 

NEUTER  a-DECLENSION;  VERBAL  ENDINGS  23 

51.  Personal  Endings.    The  personal  endings  of  the  preterit 
indicative  of  weak  verbs  are  as  follows: 


Sing.  1    -e 

2    -est 

Plur.  1,  2,  3    -on 

•         3    -e 

The  conjugation  of  the  preterit  indicative  of  fremman  is  there- 
fore as  follows: 

Sing.  1     (ic)  frcmede,  /  made  Plur.  1     (we)  fremedon,  we  made 

2  (tSu)  fremedest,  tkou  modest  2     (^e)  fremedon,  you  made 

3  (he)  fremede,  he  made  3    (hie)  fremedon,  they  made 

Reading 

52.  Se  hlaford,  \)e  on  his  earmum  hringas  haefde,  daelde  to 
his  folce  Jjaet  gold  fram  tSam  horde,  paet  fyr  baernde,  ond  ]7a 
sweord  ond  J)a  seax  scinon  ])aer  hie  hengon  on  jjsem  wealle  j^aes 
buses.  Se  scop  sang  J^aet  leoS,  and  Jjser  waes  se  sang  ond  }?aet 
giedd. 

dielde,  pret.  ind.  3  person  sing,  of  dielan. 

baernde,  pret.  ind.  3  person  sing,  of  bseman. 

scinon,  pret.  ind.  3  person  plur.  of  scinan. 

hengon,  pret.  ind.  3  person  plur.  of  hon. 

sang,  pret.  ind.  3  person  sing,  of  singan. 

waes,  pret.  ind.  3  person  sing,  of  wesan. 


CHAPTER  IV 

Feminine  6-Declension 
Verbal  Endings 

53.  The  feminine  o-declension  (also  called  the  strong 
feminine  declension)  includes  nearly  all  feminine  nouns  which 
end  in  a  consonant  or  -u. 

This  declension  includes  "o-stems,"  "jo-stems,"  and  "w5-stems."  For 
a  systematic  treatment  of  these  see  the  Reference  Grammar  (317-319). 


54. 

Paradigms  of  seo  i 

giefu,  the  gift;  sec 

»  lar,  the 

teaching; 

seo  wund,  the  wound;  and 

see  sSwol,  the  som 

I: 

Sing. 

Endings 

Nom. 

sSo  iiefu 

lar 

wund 

sawol 

-u,  — 

Gen. 

Z&re  giefe 

iare 

wunde 

sawle 

-e 

Dat. 

H&re  ^efe 

lare 

wunde 

sawle 

-e 

Ace. 

9a  iiefe 

Iare 

wunde 

sawle 

-e 

Inst. 

Zxre  ^iefe 

tare 

wunde 

sawle 

-e 

Plur. 

Nom.; 

,  Ace.  t55  iiefa,  ^iefe 

lira,  -e 

wunda,  -e 

sawla,  -e 

-a,  -e 

Gen. 

Tiata  iiefa,  ^efena 

lara 

wunda 

sawla 

-a,    -ena 

Dat., 

Inst.  'Sxm  (Sam)  ^efum 

larum 

wundum 

sawlum 

-um 

Some  feminine  nouns,  e.g.,  tid,  time,  and  d£d,  deed,  have  no  ending  in  the 
Ace.  Sing.  These  are  "i-  stems";  for  further  details  in  regard  to  them  see  the 
Reference  Grammar  (325).  It  will  be  observed  that  the  inflected  forms  of 
sawol  lack  the  vowel  which  appears  in  the  second  syllable  of  the  uninflected 
form;  this  variation  is  frequent,  but  not  universal,  in  the  declension  of  dis- 
syllabic feminines  ending  in  a  consonant. 

55.  The  case  ending  -u  of  the  Nom.  Sing,  occurs  only  when, 
as  in  ^iefu,  the  stem  is  a  short  syllable  (see  48).  When,  as  in 
lar  and  wund,  the  stem  is  long,  the  Nom.  Sing,  is  without 
ending. 

24 


FEMININE  6-DECLENSION;  VERBAL  ENDINGS 


25 


56.  Strong  Verbs.  Strong  verbs  form  their  preterit,  not 
by  the  addition  of  a  suffix,  but  by  means  of  a  change  in  the 
vowel  of  the  stem.  This  change  is  called  ablaut  (or  gradation). 
Thus,  the  preterit  indicative  first  person  singular  of  singan  is 
sang  (song);  the  preterit  plural  is  sungon. 

57.  Principal  Parts.  The  principal  parts  of  a  strong  verb 
are:  (1)  the  infinitive,  (2)  the  preterit  indicative  first  person 
singular,  (3)  the  preterit  indicative  plural,  (4)  the  past  parti- 
ciple. Following  are  the  principal  parts  of  drifan,  drive; 
beodan,  command;  singan,  sing;  beran,  bear;  sprecan,  speak; 
faran,  go;     l^tan,  let;  feallan,  fall: 

drifan  draf 

beodan  bead 

singan  sang  (song) 

beran  baer 


sprecan 

spraec 

faran 

for 

yetan 

let 

feallan 

fSoU 

drifon 

drifen 

budon 

boden 

sungon 

sungen 

b£ron 

boren 

spr^con 

sprecen 

fSron 

faren 

leton 

yeten 

feollon 

feallen 

58.  Personal    Endings.     The    personal    endings    of    the 
preterit  indicative  of  strong  verbs  are  as  follows: 


Sing.  1    — 

2  -e 

3  — 


Plur.  1,  2,  3    -on 


The  conjugation  of  the  preterit  indicative  of  drifan  and  singan 

is  as  follows: 


Sing.  1  (ic)  draf,  /  drove 

2  (tJu)  drife,  thou  drovesl 

3  (he)  draf,  he  drove 

Sing.  1  (ic)  sang  (song),  /  sang 

2  (tJu)  sunge,  thou  sangest 

3  (he)  sang  (song),  he  sang 


Plur.  1  (we)  drifon,  we  drove 

2  (j|e)  drifon,  you  drove 

3  (hie)  drifon,  they  drove 

Plur.  1  (we)  sungon,  we  sang 

2  (ie)  sungon,  you  sang 

3  (hie)  sungon,  they  sang 


26  ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 

It  is  important  to  observe  that  the  second  person  singular  is 
formed  from  the  stem  of  the  preterit  plural,  not  from  that  of 
the  preterit  singular. 

Reading 
59.  In  Jjsere  healle  waes  seo  bliss  and  seo  sselt5.  Hie  haefdon 
nsefre  ]>a.  ceare  ne  ]?a  sorge.  On  ])&m.  bencum  saeton 
J7a  eorlas,  ond  se  dream  ]7sere  dryhte  waes  micel.  Hira  meda 
ond  hira  saelSa  waeron  monige.  ])a  hie  haefdon  fela  giefena, 
)?a  hie  eodon  to  hira  hamum. 

ceare,  ace.  sing,  of  caru. 

saeton,  pret.  ind.  3  person  plural  of  sittan. 

hira,  their,  gen.  plur.  of  the  third  personal  pronoun,  he. 

monige,  nom.  plur.  of  mani^  (monli). 

eodon,  pret.  ind.  3  person  plur.  of  gin. 


CHAPTER  V 

n-SxEMS 
beon 

60.  The  n-stems  (also  called  "weak  nouns")  include  (1) 
all  masculine  nouns  ending  in  -a;  (2)  all  feminine  nouns  ending 
in  -e;  (3)  two  neuter  nouns,  cage,  eye,  and  eare,  ear,  ending  in  -e. 

61.  Paradigms  of  hunta,  hunter,  (masculine);  eor'Se,  earth, 
(feminine);  cage,  eye,  (neuter): 

Sing. 


Nom. 

hunta 

eortJe 

eage 

Gen. 

huntan 

eortSan 

eagan 

Dat. 

huntan 

eorSan 

eagan 

Ace. 

huntan 

eortSan 

eage 

Inst. 

huntan 

eoiZan 

eagan 

Plur. 

Nom. 

,  Ace. 

huntan 

eotlSan 

eagan 

Gen. 

huntena 

eor'Sena 

eagena 

Dat, 

Inst. 

huntum 

eort$um 

eagum 

Endings 

-a 

-e 

-e 

-an 

-an 

-an 

-an 

-an 

-an 

-an 

-an 

-e 

-an 

-an 

-an 

-an 

-an 

-an 

-ena 

-ena 

-ena 

-um 

-um 

-um 

62.  Complete  paradigm  of  the  definite  article  and  demon- 
strative, se,  sec,  tJaet: 


Masculine          Feminine 

Neuter 

Sing.  Nom, 

se 

seo 

Hxt 

Gen. 

Uses 

tSaere 

tJaes 

Dat. 

Zxm,  Zam 

Hsbte 

'Ssbm,  tSam 

Ace. 

tione 

Za 

Hxt 

Inst. 

Zy,  tJon,  He 

Zxre 

Hy,  tSon,  9e 

AU  Genders 

Plur.  Nom.,  Ace. 

t$a 

Gen. 

tSara 

Dat.,  Inst. 

tSiem 

I,  tSam 

27 

(ic)  beo 

/  am 

(t$u)  bist 

thou  art 

(he)  bib 

he  is 

(we)  beo|) 

we  are 

(ie)  beob 

you  are 

(hie)  beo|» 

they  are 

28  ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 

63.  The  present  indicative  of  beon,  be,  is  conjugated  as 
follows: 

Sing.  1     (ic)  eom 

2  (tSu)  eart 

3  (he)  is 

Plur.  1     (we)  sindon  (sind,  sint) 

2  (ie)  sindon  (sind,  sint) 

3  (hie)  sindon  (sind,  sint) 

64.  The  preterit  indicative  of  wesan,  be,  is  conjugated  as 
follows: 

Sing.  1  (ic)  wies  /  was 

2  CSu)  wiere  thou  wast 

3  (he)  wies  he  was 
Plur.  1  (we)  wteron  we  were 

2  (^e)  w«ron  you  were 

3  (hie)  w«ron  they  were 

This  "composite"  verb  comprises  forms  of  three  separate 
verbs.  To  one  belong  eom,  eart,  is,  sindon;  to  a  second  belong 
beo,  bist,  bi|>,  beoJ>;  to  a  third  belong  the  forms  waes,  wsere, 
W£eron.  No  one  of  these  verbs  is  conjugated  fully  in  any 
Germanic  language,  but  forms  of  each  are  combined  so  as  to 
comprise  one  fully  conjugated  verb. 

A  distinction  of  meaning  exists  between  the  present  indica- 
tive forms  eom,  sindon,  etc.,  and  beo,  etc.  The  former  are 
used  to  express  present  time,  but  the  latter  are  usually  future 
in  meaning. 

Reading 

65.  pa  seo  sunne  aras,  J?a  comon  ]7a  bodan  J)aes  cyninges, 
cweSende  J^aet  J>a  scipflotan,  Jja  Norjjmenn,  comon.     pa.  guman 


n- STEMS;  beon  29 

to  hira  ecgum  and  hira  garum  fengon.  Hie  gewiton  to  Jjsere 
hilde.  pser  hie  fuhton  ongean  ]>2bm  feSum  Sara  flotena.  Seo 
byrne  scan,  (5aet  sweord  swong,  seo  ecg  bat.  \)Sbr  wseron 
monige  bealde  daede  on  bam  healfum. 

cweSende,  pres.  participle  of  cwetSan. 
Nor|>menn,  nom.  plur.  of  Norl>maiin. 
monige,  nom.  plur.  of  monl^  (mani^). 
fuhton,  pret.  indie.  3  person  plur.  of  feohtan. 


CHAPTER  VI 

Third  Personal  Pronoun 
Verbal  Endings 

66.  The  personal  pronoun  of  the  third  person,  he,  heo,  hit, 

he,  she,  it,  is  declined  as  follows: 


Sing. 

Masculine 

Feminine 

Neuter 

Nom. 

he 

heo 

hit 

Gen. 

his 

hiere,  hire 

his 

Dat. 

him 

hiere,  hire 

him 

Ace. 

hine 

hie,  hi 

hit 

Plur. 

All  Genders 

Nom.,  Ace 

hie,  hi 

Gen. 

hiera,  hira,  heora 

Dat. 

him,  heom 

67.  Personal  Endings  of  Present  Indicative.  The  present 
indicative  of  strong  verbs  is  conjugated  by  means  of  the  follow- 
ing endings: 

Sing.  1    -e 

2  -est  Plur.  1,  2,  3    -aj> 

3  -el> 

These  endings  are  added  to  the  present  stem  of  the  verb,  which 
we  obtain  by  dropping  from  the  infinitive  form  the  infinitive 
ending,  -an.  The  conjugation  of  the  present  indicative  of 
drifan  and  singan  is  therefore  as  follows: 

Sing.  1  (ic)  drife  (ic)  singe 

2  (tSu)  drifest  (tSu)  singest 

3  (he)  drife);  (he)  singe)> 
Plur.  1  (we)  drifa)>  (we)  singa]> 

2  (ie)  drifab  (ifi)  smga\> 

3  (hie)  drifa|>         (lue)  singa); 

30 


THIRD  PERSONAL  PRONOXJN;  VERBAL  ENDINGS  31 

These  endings  are  also  employed  in  the  conjugation  of  weak 
verbs  of  the  first  class  (see  Chapter  XVII).     Weak  verbs  of 
the  second  class  (see  Chapter  XX)  have  in  the  present  indica- 
tive the  following  endings: 
Sing.    1     -ie 

2  -ast  Plur.  1,  2,  3    -ia|» 

3  -ai> 

The  conjugation  of  the  present  indicative  of  deman,  judge, 
and  lufian,  love,  weak  verbs  respectively  of  the  first  and  second 
classes,  is  as  follows: 

Sing.  1  (ic)  deme  (ic)  hifie 

2  (Su)  demest  (tSu)  lofast 

3  (he)  deme})  (he)  lufal> 
Plur.  1  (we)  dema]?  (we)  lufia|> 

2  (ge)  dema}>  (^e)  lufia]? 

3  (hie)  dema}>  (hie)  lufia]» 

Reading 
Mathew  13:24-30 

68.  Heofona  rice  is  geworden  ]?am  menn  gelic  ]7e  seow  god 
saed  on  his  aecere.  So]?lIce  }ja  J)a  menn  slepon,  J^a  c5m  his 
feonda  sum  and  oferseow  hit  mid  coccele  on  middum  }>am 
hwsete  and  ferde  Jjanon,  Sojjlice  }?a  seo  wyrt  weox  ond  Jjone 
waestm  brohte,  )7a  aetlewde  se  coccel  hine.  pa  eodon  J?aes 
hlafordes  Jjeowas  ond  cwaedon,  "Hlaford,  hu  ne  seo  we  \>u  god 
sjed  on  ]jlnum  aecere?  Hwanon  haefde  he  coccel?"  J)a  cwaej; 
he,  "paet  dyde  unhold  monn."  J)a  cwaedon  Jja  J>eowas,  "Wilt 
)7u  we  gaS  and  gaderiaS  hie?"  pa  cwaeS  he,  "Nese,  J?e  laes  ge 
])one  hwjete  awurtwalien  |?onne  ge  Jjone  coccel  gaderia]?.  Lseta?5 
8feg)7er  weaxan  o3  riptiman;  ond  on  ]?am  riptiman  ic  secge  j^am 
riper um,  'GaderiaJ?  serest  J?one  coccel,  ond  bindaj)  sceafmaelum 
to  forbaernenne;  ond  gaderiaj?  Sone  hwaete  into  minum  berne.*  " 

is  geworden  ielic,  is  likened. 

menn,  dat.  sing,  of  mann;  see  167. 


32  ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 

hine,  the  personal  pronoun  used  reflexively, 

seowe,  pret.  ind.  2  person  sing,  of  sawan. 

Hnum,  masc.  dat.  sing,  of  iin. 

wilt,  pres.  ind.  2  person  sing,  of  willan. 

^9,  pres.  ind,  1  person  plur.  of  gan;  here,  as  frequently  in  OE,  the  present 
tense  is  used  with  future  meaning. 

gaderiatt,  pres.  ind.  1  person  plur.  of  gaderian,  used  with  future  meaning. 

Swurtwalien,  pres.  subj.  2  person  plur.  of  awurtwalian. 

Uetatt,  imperative  2  person  plur.  of  l£tan;  the  imp.  2  person  plur.  of  both 
strong  and  weak  verbs  is  always  identical  in  form  with  the  pres.  ind.  2  person 
plural. 

secge,  pres.  ind.  1  person  sing,  of  secgan,  used  with  future  meaning. 

gaderia|r,  imp.  2  person  plur.  of  gaderian. 

buida|>,  imp.  2  person  plur.  of  bindan. 

t5  forbiemenne,  to  burn  up,  gerund  of  forb«ernan,  used  to  express  purpose* 


CHAPTER  VII 

Declension  of  Adjectives 

69.  In  Old  English,  as  in  all  other  Germanic  languages, 
there  are  two  declensions  of  the  adjective,  the  strong  and  the 
weak. 

70.  Paradigm  of  the  strong  declension  of  the  short-stemmed 
adjective  sum,  some: 


Sing. 

Masculine 

Feminine 

Neuter 

Endings 

Nom. 

sum 

sumu 

sura 

— 

-u         — 

Gen. 

sumes 

sumre 

sumes 

-es 

-re        -e» 

Dat. 

sumum 

sumre 

sumum 

-urn 

-re        -um 

Ace. 

sumne 

sume 

sum 

-ne 

-e         — 

Inst. 

sume 

sumre 

sume 

-e 

-re        -e 

Plur. 

Nom. 

,  Ace. 

sume 

suma,  sume 

sumu 

-e 

-a,  -e  -u 

Gen. 

sumra 

sumra 

sumra 

-ra 

-ra       -ra 

Dat., 

Inst. 

sumum 

sumum 

sumum 

-mn 

-um     -um 

71.  Paradigm  of  the  strong  declension  of  the  long-stemmed 
adjective  god,  good: 


Sing. 

Masculine 

Feminine 

Neuter 

Endings 

Nom. 

god 

god 

god 

— 

—          — 

Gen. 

godes 

godre 

godes 

-es 

-re         -es 

Dat. 

godum 

gSdre 

godum 

-um 

-re          -um 

Ace. 

gSdne 

g5de 

god 

-ne 

-e          — 

Inst. 

g5de 

godre 

gode 

-e 

-re          -e 

Plur. 

Nom. 

,  Ace. 

gode 

g5da,  gode 

god,  g5de 

-e 

-a,  -e   — ,  -e 

Gen. 

godra 

godra 

godra 

-ra 

-ra         -ra 

Dat., 

Inst. 

godum 

godum 

33 

g5dum 

-um 

-um       -um 

34  ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 

72.  It  will  be  observed  that  most  of  the  endings  are  the 
same  as  those  of  the  masculine  and  neuter  a- declension  and 
feminine  o- declension  nouns.  The  endings  printed  in  italics, 
however,  belong  to  the  pronoun  declension;  thus, 

svun-um,  Masc.  Neut.  Dat.  Sing.,  ends  in  -m  like  9£m  and  him; 
sum-ne,  Masc.  Ace.  Sing.,  has  the  same  ending  as  9one  and  hine; 
sum-re.  Fern.  Gen.  Dat.  Sing.,  has  the  same  ending  as  tisbte  and  hiere; 
sum-e,  Masc.  Nom.  Ace.  Plur.,  ends  in  a  vowel  like  tSa  and  hie,  not  in 
-as  like  stanas; 

sum-ra,  Cjcn.  Plur.,  has  the  same  ending  as  Sara  and  hiera. 

73.  The  declension  of  the  short-stemmed  adjectives  and 
of  the  long-stemmed  adjectives  is  identical  except  in  two  forms. 
In  the  Fem.  Nom.  Sing,  and  the  Neut.  Nom.  Ace.  Plur.  the 
short-stemmed  adjective  has  the  ending  -u.  The  long-stemmed 
adjective,  on  the  other  hand,  has  no  ending  in  the  Fem.  Nom. 
Sing.,  and  often  has  none  in  the  Neut.  Nom.  Ace.  Plur.  This 
difference  is  precisely  parallel  to  that  between  limu  and  word, 
^iefu  and  lar;  see  48  and  55. 

74.  Dissyllabic  Adjectives.  Adjectives  ending  in  -e,  like 
grene,  green,  are  declined  like  sum  except  that  they  have  the 
ending  -e  wherever  sum  is  without  ending  (see  Reference 
Grammar  356).  The  inflected  forms  of  dissyllabic  adjectives 
ending  in  a  consonant  frequently  lack  the  vowel  which  appears 
in  the  second  syllable  of  the  uninflected  form;  e.g.,  hali^; 
holy,  Gen.  Sing,  halves.  Dissyllabic  adjectives  ending  in  a 
consonant  sometimes  have  and  sometimes  do  not  have  the 
ending  -u  in  the  Fem.  Nom.  Sing,  and  Neut.  Nom.  Ace.  Plur. 

75.  Weak  Declension.  Paradigm  of  the  weak  declension 
of  the  adjective  god,  good: 


Sing. 

Masculine 

Feminine 

Neuter 

Endings 

Nom. 

g5da 

gode 

gode 

-a         -e      -e 

Gen. 

godan 

godan 

godan 

-an       -an    -an 

DECLENSION  OF  ADJECTIVES  35 


Dat. 

gddan 

godan       godan 

-an   -an 

-an 

Ace. 

godan 

godan       gode 

-an    -an 

-e 

Inst. 

godan 

Plur. 

godan       gSdan 

All  Genders 

-an    -an 

-an 

Nom. 

,  Ace.   g5dan 

-an 

Gen. 

godena,  godra 

-ena,  -ra 

Dat., 

Inst.   godum 

-lun 

76.  It  will  be  observed  that  the  endings  of  the  weak  adjec- 
tive declension  are  identical  with  those  of  the  weak  noun  declen- 
sion except  in  the  Gen.  Plur.,  where  the  ending  -ra,  borrowed 
by  analogy  from  the  strong  declension,  is  an  alternative  to  the 
weak  ending  -ena. 

77.  The  strong  declension  of  the  adjective  is  used  in  prose 
except  under  conditions  that  require  the  use  of  the  weak  declen- 
sion. The  weak  declension  is  used:  (1)  when  the  adjective 
is  preceded  by  the  definite  article  se  or  the  demonstrative 
tJes,  this;  (2)  when  it  is  preceded  by  a  possessive  pronoun; 
(3)  when  it  modifies  a  noun  used  in  direct  address;  (4)  regularly 
in  the  comparative  degree;  (5)  frequently  in  the  superlative 
degree;  (6)  often  in  poetry  where  the  strong  declension  would 
be  used  in  prose. 

Reading 
Luke  15:11-19 

78.  SoSlice  sum  monn  haefde  twegen  suna.  pa  cwaeS  se 
gingra  to  his  f seder,  "Faeder,  sele  me  minne  dael  minre  aehte 
\>t  me  to  gebyrej)."  pa  dselde  he  him  his  aehta.  Da  aefter 
feawum  dagum  eall  his  )?ing  gegaderode  se  gingra  sunu  ond 
ferde  wraeclice  on  feorlen  rice  ond  forspilde  Jjaer  his  sehta, 
libbende  on  his  gselsan. 


36  ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 

Da  he  hie  haefde  ealle  amierrede,  J^a  weart5  micel  hunger  on 
|>am  rice  and  he  weartJ  wsedla.  J)a  ferde  he  and  folgode  anum 
burhsittendum  menn  )>aes  rices;  tSa  sende  he  hine  to  his  tune 
)?aet  he  heolde  his  swin.  Da  gewilnode  he  his  wambe  gefyllan 
of  ]7am  beancoddum  ]>e  t5a  swin  aeton,  and  him  mon  ne  sealde. 

pa  be)?6hte  he  hine  ond  cwaet5,  "Eala,  hu  fela  hyrlinga  on 
mines  faeder  huse  hlaf  genohne  habbatJ,  ond  ic  her  on  hungre 
forweor?5e!  Ic  arise  ond  ic  fare  to  minum  faeder  and  ic  secge 
him,  *Eala  faeder,  ic  syngode  on  heofonas  and  beforan  ]>e; 
nu  ic  ne  eom  wiert5e  J?aet  ic  b6o  J>in  sunu  nemned;  do  me  swa 
Snne  of  J)inum  hyrlingum.'  " 

suna,  ace.  plur.  of  sunu. 

^ngra,  comparative  of  ieong. 

fteder,  gen.  and  dat.  sing,  of  feeder. 

sele,  imp.  2  person  sing,  of  sellan. 

me,  dat.  sing,  of  ic. 

^ebyre|>,  pres.  ind.  3  person  sing,  of  ^ebyrian. 

libbende,  pres.  participle  of  libban. 

amierrede,  past  participle  of  amierran,  inflected  like  a  strong  adjective. 

folgode,  note  that  this  verb  is  followed  by  the  dat.,  not  the  ace. 

burhsittendum,  adjective  having  the  form  of  a  present  participle. 

menn,  dat.  sing,  of  mann  (monn). 

heolde,  pret.  subj.  3  person  sing,  of  healdan. 

sealde,  pret.  ind.  3  person  sing,  of  sellan. 

be|>ohte,  pret.  ind.  3  person  sing,  of  be)>encan. 

habbaS,  pres.  ind.  3  person  plur.  of  habban. 

bSo,  pres.  subj.  1  person  sing,  of  been. 

do,  imp.  2  person  sing,  of  don. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
Change  of  a  to  ae  and  o  ;  ties 

79.  For  the  adequate  understanding  of  many  phenomena 
in  Old  English,  especially  of  apparent  "irregularities"  in  the 
inflection  of  the  strong  verbs,  it  is  necessary  for  the  student 
to  become  acquainted  with  a  number  of  sound  changes  which 
occurred  in  the  Prehistoric  periods  of  the  language.  Altho 
for  the  explanation  of  these  sound  changes  it  is  necessary  for 
us  to  reconstruct  words  and  forms  as  they  must  have  existed 
centuries  before  Old  English  was  written  down,  we  may  do 
so  with  confidence  on  the  basis  of  a  comparison  of  Old  English 
with  Gothic,  Old  Norse,  Old  Saxon,  and  Old  High  German, 
which  often  preserved  without  change  sounds  that  were  modi- 
fied or  lost  in  Old  English.^* 

80.  Change  of  a  to  £e.  One  of  the  earliest  Old  English 
sound  changes  was  that  of  a  to  se.  a  remained  a  only  when  it 
was  followed  by  w  or  a- nasal,  OE.when  it  occurred  before  a 
single  consonant  followed  by  a,  o,  or  u.^  Elsewhere  a  became 
se.  Thus  Prehistoric  OE  *dag  (cf.  Gothic  dags,  Old  Norse 
dagr,  Old  Saxon  dag,  Old  High  German  tag)  became  dae^. 
But  *dagas  remained  dagas,  because  the  a  was  followed  by  a 
single  consonant  plus  a.  Likewise  *daga  remained  daga, 
and  *dagum  remained  dagum. 

"  See  Introduction,  Old  English  and  its  Related  Languages. 
^*  a  always  became  le  before  single  h,  however,  even  if  followed  by  a.  o» 
or  u. 

37 


38 


ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 


Further  examples  are  as  follows: 


•sat 

became  saet 

*faran 

remained  faran 

*£ast 

f«st 

♦nacod 

"         nacod 

♦acr 

aecer 

♦sadol 

"         sadol 

♦craft 

crieft 

♦hradum 

"         hradum 

♦dages 

dse^es 

*hwatu 

"         hwatu 

*hwat5er 

hwaetJer 

*clawe 

"         clawe 

81.  Change  of  a  to  o.  When  a  was  followed  by  nasal  (m 
or  n)  it  did  not  become  ae,  but  either  remained  a  or  was  changed 
to  0.^  In  the  EWS  MSS  o  is  decidedly  more  common  before 
nasals  than  a;  in  the  LWS  MSS  a  is  almost  universal.  Thus 
Prehistoric  OE  *handu  (cf .  Gothic  handus,  Old  Saxon  hand, 
Old  High  German  hant)  became  EWS  hond,  LWS  hand; 
Prehistoric  OE  *mann  (cf .  Gothic  manna,  Old  Saxon,  Old  High 
German  man)  became  EWS  monn,  LWS  mann. 

82.  Exercise.  Convert  the  following  Prehistoric  Old  Eng- 
lish forms  into  the  forms  that  would  occur  in  the  language  of 
the  year  900:  *?5anc,  *fastum,  *)?at,  *lamb,  *after,  *standan, 
*glad,  *ba])u,  *and,  *cradol,  *fader,  *swamm,  *calan,  *lang, 
*camp.  *sacu,  *hafoc,  *anda,  *fa]7m. 

83.  The  demonstrative  l?es,  J)eos,  |>is,  this,  is  declined  as 
follows: 


Sing. 

Masculine 

Feminine 

Neuter 

Nom. 

t>es 

)>eos 

)>is 

Gen. 

fnsses,  |nses 

l>isse 

Insses,  |>ises 

Dat. 

Hssmn,  Hsum       }>isse 

)>issum,  ]>!sum 

Ace 

Insne 

)>as 

Ha 

Inst. 

Ms 

Jnsse 

W» 

Plur. 

All  Genders 

Nom.,  Ace. 

l>as 

Gen. 

)>issa 

Dat.,  Inst. 

Hssum,  Jnsiun 

*•  o  which  develoi>ed  out  of  a  followed  by  a  nasal  is  often  printed  as  q  by 
editors  of  OE  texts,  but  the  character  q  does  not  occur  in  the  MSS. 


CHANGE  OF  a  TO  «  AND  O ;  tJes  39 

Reading 
Luke  15:20-32 

84.  Ond  he  aras  J?a  ond  com  to  his  faeder.  And  ]?a  giet 
J?a  he  waes  feorr  his  faeder,  he  hine  geseah  ond  wear?5  mid  mild- 
heortnesse  astyred  and  ongean  hine  am  ond  hine  beclypte  ond 
cyste  hine.  Da  cwaeS  his  sunu,  "Faeder,  ic  syngode  on  heofon 
ond  beforan  Se;  nu  ic  ne  eom  wierjje  J)aet  ic  \>m  sunu  beo  genem- 
ned."  Da  cwae)?  se  faeder  to  his  Jjeowum,  "Bringat5  hraet5e 
Ipone  selestan  gegierelan  and  scrydaS  hine,  ond  sellaS  him 
bring  on  his  hand  and  gescle  to  his  fotum;  ond  bringatS  an  faett 
stierc  and  ofsleaS,  ond  uton  etan  and  gewistfuUian;  for  J)am 
]>es  mln  sunu  waes  dead,  ond  he  geedcwicode;  he  forwearS,  ond 
he  is  gemett."     Da  ongunnon  hie  gewistlaecan. 

S6(51ice  his  ieldra  sunu  waes  on  aecere;  ond  he  com,  and  ])a 
he  J?am  huse  genealsehte,  he  gehierde  ]?one  sweg  ond  J^aet  werod. 
pa  clipode  he  anne  ))eow  ond  ascode  hine  hwaet  ]?aet  waere. 
Da  cwaeS  he,  "})In  broSor  com;  and  \)m  faeder  ofsloh  an  f^tt 
cealf,  for  ]7am  ]?e  he  hine  halne  onfeng." 

Da  bealg  he  hine  ond  nolde  in  gan.  pa  code  his  faeder  ut 
ond  ongann  hine  biddan.  Da  cwae]?  he  his  faeder  andswariende, 
*Efne  swa  fela  geara  ic  )?e  j^eowode,  ond  ic  naefre  J>in  bebod  ne 
forgiemde;  and  ne  sealdest  )7U  me  naefre  an  ticcen  Jiaet  ic  mid 
mlnum  freondum  gewistf ullode ;  ac  siSSan  Jjes  \>m  sunu  com 
]>e  his  spede  mid  miltestrum  amierde.  \>u  ofsloge  him  faett 
cealf."  Da  cwae)?  he,  "Sunu,  ]>u  eart  simle  mid  me,  ond  ealle 
mine  J^ing  sint  Jjine;  )?e  gebyrede  gewistf ullian  ond  geblissian, 
for  }?am  ])es  \>m  broSor  waes  dead,  ond  he  geedcwicode;  he 
forwearS,  and  he  is  gemett." 

faeder,  dat.  sing,  of  faeder. 
geseah,  pret.  ind.  3  person  sing,  of  ieseon. 
am,  pret.  ind.  3  person  sing,  of  iman. 
bringaS,  imp.  2  person  plur.  of  bringan. 


40  ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 

scrydatJ,  imp.  2  person  plur.  of  scrydan. 

sella?,  imp.  2  person  plur.  of  sellan. 

ofsleat$,  imp.  2  person  plur.  of  ofslean. 

uton,  let  us,  used  with  the  infinitive. 

ieldra,  comparative  of  eald. 

w£re,  pret.  subj.  3  person  singular  of  wesan. 

andswariende,  pres.  participle  of  andswarian  (ondswarian). 

sealdest,  pret.  ind.  2  person  sing,  of  sellan. 

gewistfuUode,  pret.  subj.  1  person  sing,  of  ^ewistfullian. 

ofsl5ge,  pret.  ind.  2  person  sing,  of  ofslean. 


CHAPTER  IX 


Breaking;  ic  and  \>u 

85.  Breaking.  At  an  early  period  of  Prehistoric  Old  Eng- 
lish, but  subsequent  to  the  change  of  a  to  ae,  the  vowels  ae,  e, 
and  i,  when  followed  by  certain  consonants  or  consonant  com- 
binations, underwent  a  sound  change  called  breaking  which 
converted  them  into  diphthongs. 

Before:  r  plus  a  consonant 
1  plus  a  consonant 
h 

(1)  «e  (from  older  a)  became  ea 

(2)  e  "        eo 

(3)  i  "        io27 

e,  and  i,  however,  were  broken  before  1  only  when  the 
consonant  following  1  was  h;  otherwise  the  e  and  i  remained 
unchanged,  as  in  helpan,  cild. 

For  example: 

(1)  *w«r|>    became  wear)?  (2)  *werpan  became  weorpan 

"       seolh 
"       feohtan 
"      feoh 
"      "'seohan 


*luelp 

<( 

healp                                           ^selh 

Hieht 

« 

feaht                                            *fehtan 

*s«h 

ei 

seah                                             *feh 

*8lflehan 

<( 

*sleahan                                    *8ehan 
(3)  *wirj«l'  became  *wiorlri|> 
*filhil>         "       *fiolIii|> 
*sihib         "       ♦8iohIl)=» 

"  The  h  which  caused  breaking  was  a  back  consonant;  the  r  and  1  were 
not  the  ordinary  r  and  1  but  were  pronounced  with  the  tip  of  the  tongue  turned 
upwards  and  backwards  ("inverted"  r  and  1).  The  nature  of  these  consonants 
was  such  that  there  developed  between  them  and  a  preceding  te,  e,  or  i  an  inter- 
mediate vowel  or  "glide"  which  in  the  ninth  century  was  written  a  or  o  but 
which  originally  had  the  quality  of  u. 

*'  The  vowel  i  also  was  broken  to  io,  later  eo,  before  h;  e.g.,  *tihan  became 
*tiohan  and  *tfh  became  tioh.  Likewise  &  broke  to  ea  before  h :  *n(eh  became 
neah. 

41 


42  ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 

86.  Exercise.  Convert  the  following  Prehistoric  Old  Eng- 
lish forms  into  the  forms  that  would  occur  in  the  language  of 
the  year  900:  *herte,  *gefaeh,  *hself,  *elh,  *staerf,  *seh,  *maehte, 
*aeld,  *er'5e,  *maelt,  *elh,  *waehsan,  *fsellan,  *aerm,  *bergan, 
*aehta. 

87.  Personal  Pronouns.  The  personal  pronouns  of  the 
first  and  second  persons,  ic  and  \>u,  are  declined  in  three  num- 
bers, singular,  dual,  and  plural.  The  dual  number  is  used 
only  when  the  pronoun  refers  specifically  to  two  persons;  wit, 
^it  mean  we  two,  ye  two;  unc,  inc  mean  us  two,  you  two. 

88.  Declension  of  ic,  /;  J>u,  thou: 


Sing. 

Dual 

Nom. 

ic 

bu 

Nom. 

wit 

iit 

Gen. 

min 

)>in 

Gen. 

uncer 

incer 

Dat. 

me 

1,5 

Dat. 

unc 

inc 

Ace. 

mec,  me 

|)ec, 
Plur. 
Nom. 
Gen. 
Dat. 

we 
ure 
us 

Ace. 

is 

eower 
eow 

uncit,  unc 

incit,  inc 

Aee. 

usic. 

us 

eowi6, 

,  eow 

89.  Possessive  Pronouns.  The  possessive  pronouns  min, 
mine;  Hn,  thine;  sin,  his,  her,  its,  their;  uncer,  of  us  two;  incer, 
of  you  two;  ure,  our;  and  eower,  your,  are  declined  like  strong 
adjectives  (see  Chapter  VII).  The  genitives  of  the  third 
personal  pronoun,  his,  hiere,  and  hiera,  are  also  used  to  indicate 
possession,  but  are  of  course  not  declined  as  adjectives. 

Reading 
Matthew  25:1-12 

90.  ponne  bi}?  heofona  rice  gelic  J)am  tien  faemnum  J^e  Sa 
leohtfatu  namon  ond  ferdon  ongean  jjone  brydgumafi  ond  \>a, 
bryde.     Hira  fif   w*ron  dysige  and  fif  gleawe.     Ac  ]?a  fif 


BREAKING;  ic  AND  \>U  43 

dysigan  namon  leohtfatu  ond  ne  namon  nanne  ele  mid  him; 
t5a  gleawan  namon  ele  on  hira  fatum  mid  ]7am  leohtfatum. 

Da  se  brydguma  ielde,  \>a,  hnappodon  hie  ealle  and  slepon. 
Witodlice  to  middre  nihte  man  hriemde  ond  cwae)?,  "Nu  se 
brydguma  cymS;  faratS  him  togeanes."  J)a  arisen  ealle  ])a. 
faemnan  ond  glengdon  heora  leohtfatu. 

Da  cwaedon  pa.  dysigan  to  J)am  wTsum,  "Sella)?  us  of  eowerum 
ele,  for  jjam  uru  leohtfatu  sint  acwencte."  Da  ondswarodon 
|?a  gleawan  and  cwaedon,  "Nese,  \)e  laes  \)e  we  and  ge  naebben 
genoh;  ga);  to  )?am  cTependum,  ond  bycgaS  eow  ele." 

Witodlice  jja  hie  ferdon  and  woldon  bycgan,  Jja  com  se 
brydguma,  ond  \>a.  Se  gearwe  waeron  eodon  in  mid  him  to 
p&m  giftum,  ond  seo  duru  waes  belocen. 

Da  aet  niehstan  comon  ])a,  oSre  fsemnan  and  cwaedon, 
"Dryhten,  Dryhten,  laet  us  in."  Da  andswarode  he  heom 
ond  cwaeS,  "SoJ?  ic  eow  secge,  ne  cann  ic  eow." 


namon,  pret.  ind.  3  person  plur.  of  nunan. 
cym'S,  pres.  ind.  3  person  sing,  of  cuman. 
acwencte,  inflected  form  of  past  participle  of  acwencan. 
naebben,  pres.  subj.  2  person  plur.  of  habban,  contracted  with  the  negative 
particle  ne. 

ga|>,  imp.  2  person  plur.  of  gan. 

5t5re;  otSer  is  always  inflected  according  to  the  strong  declension. 

yet,  imp.  2  person  sing,  of  l^tan. 

cann,  pres.  ind.  1  person  sing,  of  cannan. 


CHAPTER  X 

DiPHTHONGISATION  BY  INITIAL  PALATALS;  hwS,  hwict 

91.  Influence  of  Initial  Palatal  Consonants.  At  a  period 
of  Prehistoric  Old  English  which  was  later  than  the  period  of 
breaking,  the  vowels  je,  «,  and  e,  when  preceded  by  the  initial 

"palatals  c,^  i*',  or  sc,  un3erwent  a  sound  change  which  con- 
verted them  mtb  dlpHthongs. 

(1)  ae  became  ea 

(2)  sb      "       ea 

(3)  e       "       ie  (LWS  i  or  y)« 
For  example: 

(1)  *txt  became  ceaf  (2)  *i&cc  became  ceace 

*i»l        "       ieaf  *ifbT  "      iear 

'*'8ciel       "       sceal  *sc£p         "      sceap 

(3)  *iefan    became  ^efan 
*sceran       "       scieran 

92.  Exercise.  Convert  the  following  Prehistoric  Old  Eng- 
lish forms  into  the  forms  that  would  occur  in  the  language  of 
the  year  900:  *caester,  *gsefon,  *sceld,  *forgetan,  *scaer,  *gaeton, 
*gaet,  *geldan,  *scaeft,  *gaerd,  *sc8eron. 

"  See  27,  28. 

5"  See  24,  25. 

*'  Between  the  initial  palatal  consonant  and  the  vowel  there  developed  aft 
intermediate  vowel  or  "glide"  which  united  with  the  vowel  to  form  a  diphthong. 
This  diphthong  was  originally  accented  on  its  second  element,  but  subsequently 
the  accent  was  shifted  from  the  second  element  to  the  first.  Thus  *^efan  first 
b3came  ^i<f(an,  with  the  accent  on  the  second  element  of  the  diphthong;  the&, 
with  the  shifting  of  the  accent,  ^efan  became  ^lefan. 

44 


DIPHTHONGISATION  BY  INITIAL  PALATALS;  hwa,  hwaet     45 

93.  Declension    of    hwa,    hwaet.     The    interrogative    and 
indefinite  pronoun  hwa  [who?  someone),  hwaet   (what?  some- 
thing) has  forms  only  for  the  masculine  and  neuter  singular. 
It  is  declined  like  se,  tJaet: 
Sing. 


Masculine 

Neuter 

Nom. 

hwa 

hwct 

Gen. 

hwses 

hwaes 

Dat. 

hvfxm,  hwam 

hw£em,  hwam 

Ace. 

hwone 

hwaet 

Inst. 

hwy,  hwon 

hwy,  hwon 

Reading 
Luke  16:19-31 

94.  Sum  welig  mann  wses,  ond  he  waes  gescrydd  mid  pur- 
puran  ond  mid  twine  and  daeghwamllce  ricellce  gewistfullode. 
Ond  sum  waedla  waes,  on  naman  Lazarus,  se  laeg  on  his  dura, 
swi(5e  forwundod.  and  wilnode  Jjaet  he  hine  of  his  crumum 
gefylde  ]>e  of  his  beode  feollon;  ond  him  nan  monn  ne  sealde, 
ac  hundas  comon  and  his  wunda  liccodon. 

Da  waes  geworden  J^aet  se  wsedla  forSferde,  ond  hine  englas 
b^ron  on  Abrahames  greadan;  ])a.  wearS  se  weliga  dead  and 
waes  on  helle  bebyrged.  Da  ahof  he  his  eagan  up,  J)a  he  on 
)?am  tintregum  waes,  ond  geseah  feorran  Abraham,  ond  Laza- 
rum  on  his  greadan.  Da  hrlemde  he  and  cwaeS,  "Eala  feeder 
Abraham,  gemiltsa  me,  ond  send  Lazarum  )?aet  he  dyppe  his 
fingres  liS  on  waetere  ond  mine  tungan  gecele;  for  )7am  )?e  ic 
eom  on  Jjissum  liege  cwielmed." 

Da  cwaeS  Abraham,  "Eala  sunu,  gejjenc  J)aet  Jju  god  onfenge 
on  })inum  life,  ond  gelice  Lazarus  onfeng  yfel;  nu  is  ])es  gefre- 
fred,  ond  )?u  eart  cwielmed.  And  on  eallum  Jjissum,  betweox 
us  ond  eow  is  micel  dwolma  getrymed;  J?a  Se  willaS  heonon  to 
eow  faran  ne  magon,  ne  ]?anon  faran  hider." 

Da  cwaetS  he,  "Facder,  ic  bidde  ]>e  Jjaet  Su  sende  hine  to 
mines  faeder  huse;  ic  haebbe  fif  gebrojjru;  J?aet  he  cySe  him 


46  ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 

J^aet  hie  ne  cumen  on  )7issa  tintrega  stowe."  ))a  saegde  Abraham 
him,  "Hie  habbaS  Moysen  and  witegan;  hie  hlysten  him." 
Da  cwaetJ  he,  "Nese,  faeder  Abraham,  ac  hie  dotS  daedbote  gif 
hwelc  of  deatSe  to  him  faertS."  Da  cwaetS  he,  "Gif  hie  ne 
gehiera]?  Moysen  ond  ]>&  witegan,  ne  hie  ne  geliefatS  )76ah 
hwelc  of  deatJe  arise." 

dura,  dat.  sing,  of  duni. 
iefylde,  pret.  subj.  3  person  sing,  of  ^efyllan. 
w«s  leworden,  happened;  see  §eweor9an. 
^emlltsa,  imp.  2  person  sing,  of  ^emiltsian. 
send,  imp.  2  person  sing,  of  sendan. 
dyppe,  pres.  subj.  3  person  sing,  of  dyppan. 
^ecele,  pres.  subj.  3  person  sing,  of  ^ecelan. 
^el>enc,  imp.  2  person  sing,  of  ^e]>encan. 
onfenge,  pret.  ind.  2  person  sing,  of  onion, 
magon,  pres.  ind.  3  person  plur.  of  magan. 
sende,  pres.  subj.  2  person  sing,  of  sendan. 
haebbe,  pres.  ind.  1  person  sing,  of  habban. 
cy9e,  pres.  subj.  3  person  sing,  of  cytSan. 
cumen,  pres.  subj.  3  person  plur.  of  cuman. 
Uysten,  pres.  subj.  3  person  plur.  of  hlystan. 
dStf,  pies.  ind.  3  person  plur.  of  don. 
berU,  pres.  ind.  3  person  sing,  of  faran. 
arise,  pres.  subj.  3  person  sing,  of  arisan. 


CHAPTER  XI 
Strong  Verbs:     Classes  I  and  II . 

95.  Strong  Verbs.  Strong  verbs  form  their  preterit  and 
past  participle  by  means  of  a  change  in  the  vowel  of  the  stem. 
This  change  is  called  ablaut  (or  gradation)  and  these  verbs  are 
frequently  called  ablaut  verbs.  In  Old  English,  as  in  the 
other  old  Germanic  languages,  there  are  seven  classes  of  strong 
verbs  (frequently  called  ablaut  series),  each  class  being  char- 
acterised by  a  distinct  series  of  ablaut  changes. 


96.  Class  I.     The  OE  ablaut  of  Class  I  is: 

i     (infinitive  and  present) 

5     (preterit  indicative  1  and  3  singular) 

i     (preterit  indicative  plural) 

i     (past  participle) 
The  principal  parts  (see  57)  of  representative  verbs  of  this 
class  are  as  follows: 


bidan,  await 
bitan,  bite 
glidan,  glide 
ridan,  ride 
risan,  rise 
sni'San,  cut 
writan,  write 


bad 
bat 
glad 
rid 


writ 


bidon 

biton 

glidon 

ridon 

rison 

snidon 

writon 


biden 

biten 

gliden 

riden 

risen 

sniden" 

writen 


^  The  interchange  between  ?J  in  the  present  and  preterit  singular  and  d 
in  the  preterit  plural  and  past  participle  which  occurs  in  this  verb  is  called 
grammatical  change  according  to  Vemer's  law.  In  its  origin  it  was  a  Primitive 
Gmc  change,  under  certain  conditions,  of  the  voiceless  spirants  (see  2,  3)  th 
(as  in  thin),  s  (as  in  soon),  and  h  (as  in  OE  seah)  into  the  corresponding  voiced 
spirants  th  (as  in  then)  z,  and  g  (as  in  OE  dagas).  The  correspondence  between 
these  voiceless  and  voiced  sounds  is  obscured,  however,  in  OE  by  the  fact 

47 


48 


ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 


97.  Class  II.  The  OE  ablaut  of  Class  II  is:  eo  (u);  ea; 
a;  o.  The  principal  parts  of  representative  verbs  are  as 
follows: 


(a)  beodan,  command 

bead 

badon 

boden 

cleofan,  cleave 

deaf 

clufon 

clofen 

dreo^aii,  endure 

dreag 

drugon 

drogen 

&eoifm,fly 

fleag 

flugon 

flogen 

(b)  brucan,  enjoy 

breac 

brucon 

brocen 

bugan, bow 

beag 

bugon 

bogen 

(c)  ceosan.  choose 

£eas 

curon 

coren" 

biosun,  freeze 

freas 

fniron 

froren** 

98.  The  full  conjugation  of  the  strong  verb,  exemplified  by 
bidan  and  beodan,  is  as  follows: 


Present  Sing. 


Plur. 


1 
2 
3 
1,2,3 


Preterit  Sing.  1 
2 
3 
Plur.  1,2,3 

Present  Sing.  1,  2,  3 
Plur.  1,  2,  3 

Preterit  Sing.  1,2,3 
Plur.  1,  2,  3 


INDICATIVE 
bide 

bitst.i*  bidest 
hitt,**  bide]) 
bida)> 

bid 
bide 
bad 
bidon 

SUBJUNCTIVE 
bide 
biden 

bide 
biden 


beode 

bietst,**   beodest 
biett.>«  beode|> 
beoda^ 

bead 
bade 
bead 
budon 

beode 
beoden 

bude 
buden 


that  in  West  Germanic  the  voiced  tb  and  t  were  changed  respectively  to  d  and  r. 
In  OE,  therefore,  the  actual  interchange  is  between  )>  and  d,  s  and  r,  h  and  g. 
In  OE  of  the  year  900  the  b  or  s  was  a  voiced  sound  when  it  occurred  between 
vowels,  as  in  sniban  and  risan;  it  was  a  voiceless  sound  when  it  was  final,  as 
in  snatf  and  ras. 

**  Observe  the  grammatical  change  in  this  verb,  and  see  the  preceding  note. 

•*  For  an  explanation  of  these  syncopated  forms  (as  they  are  called)  see 
Chapter  XVI. 


STRONG  VERBS:  CLASSES  I  AND  II  49 


IMPERATIVE 

Present  Sing.  2 

bid 

beod 

Plur.  2 

bidab 

beodab 

Infinitive 

bidan 

beodan 

Gerund 

to  bidenne 

t5  beodenne 

Present  Participle 

bidende 

beodende 

Past  Participle 

biden 

boden 

99.  With  regard  to  the  conjugation  of  the  strong  verbs  it 
should  be  observed: 

(1)  That  the  present  indicative,  present  subjunctive,  impera- 
tive, infinitive,  gerund,  and  present  participle  are  formed  from 
the  present  stem  of  the  verb; 

(2)  That  the  preterit  indicative  2  singular,  preterit  indica- 
tive plural,  and  preterit  subjunctive  are  formed  from  the  preterit 
plural  stem  of  the  verb; 

(3)  That  the  endings  of  the  subjunctive,  both  present  and 
preterit,  are  -e  in  the  singular  and  -en  in  the  plural. 

Reading 
Luke  10:30-35 

100.  Sum  mann  ferde  fram  Hierusalem  to  Hiericho  ond 
becom  on  \>a,  scat5an,  J?a  hine  bereafodon  and  tintregodon  hine 
ond  forleton  hine  samcwicne.  pa  gebyrede  hit  }jaet  sum 
sacerd  ferde  on  Jjam  ilcan  wege;  and  ]>&  he  ]?aet  geseah,  he  hine 
forbeag.  Ond  eall  swa  se  diacon,  J?a  he  waes  wi?5  Jja  stowe  ond 
Jjaet  geseah,  he  hine  eac  forbeag.  Da  ferde  sum  Samaritanisc 
monn  wit5  hine;  ])a.  he  hine  geseah,  jja  wearS  he  mid  mildheort- 
nesse  ofer  hine  astyred.  pa  genealsehte  he  ond  wrat5  his  wunda 
ond  on  ageat  ele  and  win  ond  hine  on  his  nieten  sette  and 
gelaedde  on  his  laecehus  and  hine  lacnode;  ond  brohte  o?5rum 
daege  twegen  peningas  and  sealde  J?am  laece  ond  )?us  cwaeS, 
"Begiem  his;  ond  swa  hwaet  swa  \>u  mare  to  gedest,  J)onne  ic 
cume,  ic  hit  forgielde  Jje." 

59niin  dte^e,  the  next  day. 

bciiem,  imp.  2  person  sing,  of  be|ieman,  used  with  gen.  of  object. 

iedest,  pres.  ind.  2  person  sing,  of  iedon. 


CHAPTER  XII 
Strong  Verbs:     Class  III 

101.  Strong  verbs  of  Class  III  have  stems  ending  in  two 
consonants,  of  which  the  first  is  nearly  always  a  liquid  (1  or  r) 
or  a  nasal  (m  or  n).     They  fall  into  four  subclasses: 

(1)  Verbs  with  stems  ending  in  a  nasal  plus  a  consonant:   . 
^     bindan,  bind         band  (bond)        bundon  bunden 

drincan,  drink       dranc  (drone)      druncon         druncen 

(2)  Verbs  with  stems  ending  in  1  plus  a  consonant: 

belpan,  help  bealp  hulpon  holpen 

mekan,  melt  mealt  multon  molten 

iieldan,  yield  ^eald  guidon  golden 

^eUan,  yell  ieall  gullon  gollen 

(3)  Verbs  with  stems  ending  in  r  or  h  plus  a  consonant: 

weorpan,  throw     wearp  wurpon  worpen 

\feoi]ftm,  become    wear|>  wurdon  worden" 

ieohtan,  fight         feabt  fuhton  fohten 

(4)  Verbs  with  stems  ending  in  two  consonants,  of  which 
neither  is  a  liquid  or  nasal: 

bre^dan,  brandish      brte^d  bragdon         brogden 

102.  In  Primitive  Germanic  all  of  these  verbs  had  originally 
the  same  ablaut:  e  in  the  infinitive  and  present,  a  in  the  preterit 
singular,  u  in  the  preterit  plural,  and  u  in  the  past  participle. 
The  regularity  of  this  ablaut  was  subsequently  broken  up, 
however,  by  sound  changes,  some  of  which  took  place  in  Ger- 

"  Observe  the  grammatical  change  in  this  verb,  and  compare  note  32  above. 

50 


STRONG  VERBS:  CLASS  IH  51 

manic  itself  and  some  in  Old  English.  An  understanding  of 
these  sound  changes  enables  one  to  bring  order  out  of  the 
apparent  irregularity  of  the  Old  English  forms. 

bindan  and  drincan  were  Primitive  Gmc  ^bendanan  and 
""drencanan,  but  Primitive  Gmc  e  followed  by  a  nasAl 
plus  another  consonant  or  by  a  double  nasal  became  L 
^leldan  and  giellan  were  Prehistoric  OE  *^eldan  and  *ieUaii, 
but  e  was  diphthongised  to  ie  in  Prehistoric  OE  because 
it  was  preceded  by  the  initial  palatal  ^  (see  91). 
weorpan,  weor|)an,  and  f  eohtan  were  Prehistoric  OE  *werpaii, 
*werl>an,  and  *fehtan,  but  e  followed  by  r  plus  a  con- 
sonant or  by  h  was  broken  to  eo  (see  85). 
bond,   drone,    ieald,    ieall,   healp,   mealt,   wearp,   wear}>, 
feaht,  and  brae^d  were  Prehistoric  OE  *band,  *dranc, 
*gald,   *gall,   *halp,   *malt,   *warp,   *war|>,   *faht,   and 
♦bragd.     But 

(1)  In  *band  and  *dranc  the  original  a  became  o  before 
the  nasal  n,  giving  EWS  bond,  drone,  LWS  band, 
drane  (see  81). 

(2)  In  *gald,  *gaU,  *halp,  *malt,  *warp,  *warl>,  and 
*faht  the  original  a  became  ae  (see  80),  which  was 
then  broken  to  ea  (see  85). 

(3)  In  *bragd  the  original  a  became  ae  and  then  remained 
unchanged,  no  cause  of  breaking  being  present. 

bunden,  druncen,  gollen,  holpen,  etc.,  were  Primitive  Gmc  ^bundanaz, 
^druncanaz,  '"gullanaz,  '^'hulpanaz,  etc.  But  when  the  following  syllable  con- 
tained the  vowel  a.  Primitive  Gmc  u  always  changed  to  o,  unless,  as  in  *bun- 
danaz  and  *druncanaz,  the  u  was  followed  by  a  nasal  plus  a  consonant.  The 
original  u,  therefore,  remains  in  bunden  and  druncen,  but  has  been  changed 
to  o  in  gollen,  holpen,  etc. 

103.  Exercise.  Construct  the  principal  parts  of  the  follow- 
ing strong  verbs:  findan,  swellan,  sweltan,  beorgan,  hweorfan, 
stregdan. 


52  ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 

Reading 
Mark  12:1-9 

104.  Sum  monn  him  plantode  wlngeard  and  betynde  hine 
ond  dealf  anne  seatS  ond  getimbrode  anne  stiepel  ond  gesette 
hine  mid  eor?5tilium  and  ferde  on  el))eodignesse. 

pa  sende  he  t5  Jjam  tilium  his  Jjeow  on  tide  \)xt  h6  paes 
wingeardes  waestm  onfenge.  Da  swungon  hie  )?one  ond  forleton 
hine  idelhendne.  And  eft  he  him  sende  otSerne  ]?eow,  and  hie 
J>one  on  heafde  gewundodon  ond  mid  teonum  geswencton. 
Ond  eft  he  him  sumne  sende,  ond  hie  Jjone  ofslogon. 

))a  haefde  he  ]>a,  giet  anne  leofostne  sunu;  ]?a  sende  he  aet 
niehstan  him  J?one  ond  cwaetS,  "Witodlice  mlnne  sunu  hie  for- 
wandia?5."  Da  cwaedon  ]>&  tilian  him  betweonan,  "Her  is  se 
ierfenuma;  uton  ofslean  hine,  )?onne  bitJ  uru  seo  ierfeweardness." 
Hie  )>a  ofslogon  hine  and  wurpon  wi?5utan  Tpone  wingeard. 

Hwaet  deS  ))aes  wingeardes  hlaford?  He  cymtJ  ond  fordetS 
J)a  tilian  and  seletJ  oI?rum  l^one  wingeard. 

onfenge,  pret.  subj.  3  person  sing,  of  onfon. 

leofostne,  masc.  ace.  sing,  of  leofost,  superlative  of  leof. 

det5,  pres.  ind.  3  person  sing,  of  don. 

cymtS,  pres.  ind.  3  person  sing,  of  cuman. 

selet(,  pres.  ind.  3  person  sing,  of  sellan. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
Strong  Verbs:     Classes  IV  and  V 

105.  Strong  verbs  of  Class  IV  have  stems  ending  in  a  single 
consonant,  nearly  always  a  liquid  (1  or  r)  or  a  nasal.  The  Old 
English  ablaut  is:  e,  ae,  ae,  o.'*    Representative  verbs  are: 


beran, bear 

b«r 

b£ron 

boren 

cwelan,  die 

cwiel 

cwselon 

cwolen 

helan,  conceal 

luel 

htelon 

bolen 

stelan,  steal 

stel 

stielon 

stolen 

teran,  tear 

tier 

t£ron 

toren 

In  one  verb: 

brecan,  break  braec  bracon  brocen 

the  stem  ends  in  a  consonant  which  is  neither  a  liquid  nora 
nasal.     In  one  verb: 

scieran,  shear  scear      scearon    scoren 

the  e  of  the  infinitive,  the  ae  of  the  preterit  indicative  1  and  3 
singular,  and  the  a  of  the  preterit  indicative  plural  have  been 
dipthongised  respectively  to  ie,  ea,  and  ea  by  the  initial  palatal 
8C  (see  91). 

106.  Two  verbs  of  Class  IV  are  irregular: 

cmnan,  come         c5m  (cwom)        cSmon  (cwSmon)       cumen 
niman,  take  nam  (nom)  nomon  (namon)        numen 

107.  Strong  verbs  of  Class  V  have  stems  ending  in  a  single 
consonant  which  is  neither  a  liquid  nor  a  nasal.  The  Old 
English  ablaut  is:  e,  ae,  ae,  e,  which,  it  should  be  observed,  is 

"  Since  the  te  of  the  preterit  singular  came  from  earlier  a,  the  original 
ablaut  of  Class  IV  was  the  same  in  the  present  and  preterit  singular  as  that  of 
Class  III;  see  102. 

53 


54 


ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 


the  same  as  that  of  Class  IV  except  in  the  past  participle. 
Representative  verbs  are: 


metan,  measure 

martt 

mieton 

meten 

sprecan,  speak 
tredan,  tread. 
cwet(an,  say 

sprsec 

tried 

cwie|> 

spriecon 

tr£doii 

cw^edon 

sprecen 

treden 

cweden" 

In  two  verbs: 

•      : 

iiefan,  give 
^etan.  get 

ieaf 
^eat 

ieafon 
Beaton 

^iefen 
iieten 

the  e  of  the  infinitive  and  past  participle,  the  se  of  the  preterit 
indicative  1  and  3  singular,  and  the  se  of  the  preterit  indicative 
plural  have  been  diphthongised  respectively  to  ie,  ea,  and  ea 
by  the  initial  palatal  ^  (see  91). 

Reading 
Matthew  18:23-34 

108.  For  J>am  is  heofona  rice  anlic  J^am  cyninge  )?e  his 
))eowas  geradegode. 

Ond  ]>&  he  J?aet  gerad  sette,  him  waes  an  br5ht  se  him  sceolde 
tien  Jjtisend  punda.  And  ]>a,  he  naefde  hwanon  he  hit  agulde, 
hine  het  his  hlaford  gesellan,  ond  his  wif  ond  his  cild  ond  eall 
J?aet  he  ahte.  pa  astreahte  se  J^eow  hine  and  cwaeS,  "Hlaford, 
gehafa  gej?yld  on  me,  and  ic  hit  ]?e  eall  agielde."  pa  gemiltsode 
se  hlaford  him  ond  forgeaf  him  J>one  gylt. 

pa  se  Ipeowa.  ut  code,  he  gemette  his  efenjjeowan  se  him 
sceolde  an  hund  peninga;  ond  he  nam  hine  \>a,  and  forjjrysmode 
hine  ond  cwae?5,  "Agief  J^aet  ]>\x  me  scealt."  And  J>a  astreahte 
his  efenjjeowa  hine  ond  baed  hine  ond  Jjus  cwaeS,  "Gejjyldiga, 
ond  ic  hit  ])e  eall  agiefe."  He  t5a  nolde;  ac  ferde  ond  wearp 
hine  on  cweartern,  otJ  tJaet  he  him  eall  ageafe. 

*7  Observe  the  grammatical  change  in  this  verb,  and  compare  note  32  above. 


STRONG  VERBS:  CLASSES  IV  AND  V  55 

Da  gesawon  his  efen]7eowas  Jjaet,  Sa  wurdon  hie  swit5e 
geunrotsode  ond  comon  and  saegdon  hira  hlaforde  ealle  Ipa, 
dsede.  Da  clipode  his  hlaford  hine  and  cwae]?  to  him,  "Eala 
)?u  ly}?ra  jjeowa,  ealne  jjinne  gylt  ic  Se  forgeaf,  for  ]7am  ]?e  Su 
me  bsede;  hu  ne  gebyrede  ]>e  gemiltsian  jjinum  efenSeowan, 
swa  swa  id  pe  gemiltsode?"  Da  waes  se  hlaford  ierre,  ond 
sealde  hine  |)am  witnerum,  oS  ]?aet  he  eall  agulde. 

Swa  dej?  min  se  heofonlica  Faeder  gif  ge  of  eowerum  heortum 
eowerum  broSrum  ne  forgiefa]?. 

naefde,  contraction  of  ne  haefde. 

^ehafa,  imp.  2  person  sing,  of  gehabban. 

gemiltsode,  note  that  this  verb  is  followed  by  the  dat.,  not  the  ace. 

scealt,  pres.  ind.  2  person  sing,  of  sculan. 

^e|)yldiga,  imp.  2  person  sing,  of  ^el^yldiglan. 

nolde,  contraction  of  ne  wolde.  ^ 

gesawon,  pret.  ind.  3  person  plur.  of  geseon. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
Strong  Verbs:    Classes  VI  and  VII 

109.  Strong  Verbs:  Class  VI.  The  Old  English  ablaut  of 
strong  verbs  of  Class  VI  is:  a,  5,  5,  a.  Representative  verbs 
of  this  class  are: 

faran,  go  for  foron  f aren^' 

galan,  sing  g5l  golon  galen 

standan  stod  stodon  standen 

(stondan),  stand  (stonden) 

110.  Strong  Verbs:  Class  VII.  The  seventh  class  of  strong 
verbs,  frequently  called  the  reduplicating  verbs,  is  different  in 
character  from  the  other  classes.  The  preterit  is  formed  by 
means  of  ablaut  or  vowel  change,  but  the  ablaut  has  no  such 
uniformity  as  we  have  found  in  Classes  I,  II,  and  VI.  Nor 
are  the  variations  of  the  kind  that  exist  in  Classes  III,  IV,  and 
V.  In  those  classes  the  uniformity  of  the  original  ablaut  has 
been  somewhat  obscured  by  the  influence  of  nasals  and  initial 
palatals  and  by  breaking,  but  when  these  sound  changes  are 
understood  the  original  uniformity  of  the  ablaut  is  still  recognis- 
able. No  such  uniformity  of  ablaut  can  be  made  out  in  Class 
VII.  The  present  and  past  participle  of  these  verbs  have  as 
their  stem  vowel  a  (or  o)  followed  by  a  nasal,  a,  «,  e,  ea,  ea, 
or  o,  and  the  preterit  has  either  e  or  eo.  They  are  most  con- 
veniently classified  according  to  their  preterit. 

"  In  the  past  participle  of  these  verbs  we  sometimes  find  ae  as  the  stem 
vowel,  but  more  often  a.  The  forms  with  «  are  phonetically  the  regular  forms 
(see  80  and  401,  408,  with  footnotes);  the  forms  with  a  are  due  to  the  analogy 
of  the  infinitive  and  other  present  forms  of  the  verb  which  regularly  had  a 
as  their  stem  vowel. 

56 


STRONG  VERBS:  CLASSES  VI  AND  VH 


57 


111.  Verbs  with  e  in  Preterit.     Representative  verbs  with 


e  in  the  preterit  are: 

hatan,  call 

het 

heton 

haten'" 

l^etan,  let 

let 

leton 

l&ten 

r^dan,  counsel 

red 

redon 

rieden 

sUepan,  sleep 

slep 

slepon 

sl£pen 

112.  Verbs  with  eo  in  Preterit 

.     Representative  verbs  with 

eo  in  the  preterit  are; 

gangan  (gongan)»  go 

ieong 

leongon 

gdngen  (gongen) 

cnawan,  know 

cneow 

cneowon 

cnawen 

sawan,  sow 

seow 

seowon 

sawen 

ieaUsm,  fall 

feoU 

feollon 

feallen 

healdan,  hold 

heold 

heoldon 

healden 

beatan,  beat 

beot 

beoton 

beaten 

heawan,  hew 

hSow 

beowon 

beawen 

flowan,  flow 

flSow 

fleowon 

fldwen 

113.  It  is  important  to  observe  that  in  the  verbs  of  Class 
VII  (as  in  those  of  Class  VI)  the  vowel  of  the  preterit  plural 
is  the  same  as  that  of  the  preterit  singular,  and  that  (as  in 
Classes  V  and  VI)  the  vowel  of  the  past  participle  is  the  same 
as  that  of  the  infinitive. 

114.  In  many  grammars  all  of  these  verbs  are  called  "redup- 
licating verbs"  because  in  Gothic  the  verbs  of  this  class  have 
preterits  which  prefix  to  the  root  a  reduplicating  syllable,  con- 
sisting of  the  initial  consonant  plus  the  sound  of  e  (spelled  in 
Gothic  ai):  slepan,  sai-slep;  letan,  lai-lot.**'     In  all  the  other 

*'  To  this  verb  belong  the  only  traces  in  Old  English  of  the  original  Ger- 
manic passive  voice;  hatte  (is  called  or  was  called)  corresponds  to  the  Gothic 
present  indicative  third  person  singular  passive  haitada.  The  plural  of  hatte 
is  batten. 

*°  Reduplication  was  an  important  method  of  tense  formation  in  the  older 
Indo-European  languages.  In  Greek  and  Sanskrit  the  perfect  was  almost 
always  a  reduplicating  tense.  In  Latin  many  verbs  retain  reduplication  in 
their  perfect.  Thus  Latin  dare,  canere,  and  cadere  have  as  their  perfects 
dedi,  cecini,  and  cecidl. 


58  ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 

Germanic  languages  except  Gothic,  however,  this  reduplicating 
preterit  has  almost  completely  disappeared,  leaving  only  a  few 
traces;  e.g.,  in  Old  English,  chiefly  in  poetry,  occur  occasionally: 

heht,   preterit  singular  of  hatan.    beside  regular  het 
reord,         "  "       "  r«dan,       "         "       red 

leolc,  "  "       "  lacan  "         "       lec 

The  usual  preterit  of  these  so-called  reduplicating  verbs  in 
Old  English  (as  in  Old  Norse,  Old  Saxon,  and  Old  High  Ger- 
man) is  an  ablaut  tense  form. 

Reading 

Appollonius  of  Tyre 

115.  The  preceding  part  of  this  story  tells  how  Apollonius,  the  Prince  of 
Tyre,  leaves  his  own  land  because  of  the  enmity  of  Antiochus,  king  of  Antioch, 
and  takes  refuge  in  Tarsus.  When  he  leaves  Tarsus  to  seek  another  place  of  refuge, 
his  ship  is  wrecked  and  Apollonius  is  the  only  man  whose  life  is  saved.  He  is 
carried  naked  to  land,  where  he  meets  a  fisherman  who  gives  him  some  clothing. 
Going  to  the  neighboring  city  of  Pentapolis,  he  makes  the  acquaintance  of 
King  Arcestrates  at  the  bath  and  impresses  the  king  so  favorably  that  Arces- 
trates  afterwards  sends  a  messenger  to  invite  him  to  his  banquet.  It  is  at  this 
point  that  our  selection  begins. 

Da  Apollonius  jjaet  gehierde,  he  Jjam  gehiersumode  and  eode 
forS  mid  |jam  menn,  o3  jjaet  he  becom  to  Saes  cyninges  healle. 
Da  eode  se  mann  in  beforan  to  tSam  cyninge  and  cwaeS,  "Se 
forlidena  monn  is  cumen,  Jje  Su  aefter  sendest,  ac  he  ne  maeg 
for  scame  in  gan  buton  scrude."  Da  het  se  cyning  hine  sona 
gescrydan  mid  weorSfullum  scrude  ond  het  hine  in  gan  to 
(5sem  gereorde.  Da  eode  Apollonius  in  and  gesa't  Jjser  him 
getaht  waes  ongcan  tSone  cyning,  Daer  wear'5  t5a  seo  ]>egn\ing 
in  geboren  ond  aefter  p&m  cynellc  gebeorscipe;  ond  Apollonius 
nan  Sing  ne  set,  (5eah  Se  ealle  o(5re  menn  seton  and  bliSe  waeron. 
Ac  he  beheold  Jjaet  gold  ond  ]>xt  seolfor  ond  Sa  deorwierSan 
reaf  ond  )?a  beodas  and  Sa  cynellcan  )?egnunga.  Da  Sa  he  J?is 
eall  mid  sarnesse  beheold,  Sa  sajt  sum  eald  ond  sum  aefestig 


STRONG  VERBS:  CLASSES  VI  AND  VII  59 

ealdormann  be  )7am  cyninge.  Mid  jjy  \)e  he  geseah  J^aet  Apol- 
lonius  swa  sarlice  saet  ond  eall  }jing  beheold  ond  nan  Sing  ne 
jet,  Sa  cwaeS  he  to  t5am  cyninge,  "Du  goda  cyning,  efne  ]>es 
monn,  \>e  ])u.  swa  wel  wiS  gedest,  he  is  swT(5e  aefestful  for  Slnum 
gode."  Da  cwse'5  se  cyning,  "pe  misjjyncS;  sotJlice  Ipes  geonga 
mann  ne  3?festat)  on  nanum  Singum  (5e  he  her  gesiehS,  ac  he 
cySS  ])Sdt  he  haefS  fela  forloren." 

^etaht,  past  part,  of  letiecan. 

«t,  pret.  ind.  3  person  sing,  of  etan.  Class  V;  note  the  irregiilarity  of  the 
ablaut. 

misl>ynct>,  pres.  ind.  3  person  sing,  of  mis};yncan. 
gesieht$,  pres.  ind.  3  person  sing,  of  ^eseon. 
cytJtJ,  pres.  ind.  3  person  sing,  of  cytJan. 


CHAPTER  XV 

Gemination  and  Umlaut 

116.  In  order  that  the  student  may  have  an  adequate 
understanding  of  the  inflection  of  the  first  class  of  weak  verbs 
it  is  necessary  that  he  shall  become  acquainted  with  two  sound 
changes  known  as  gemination  and  i-umlaut.  The  first  of  these 
sound  changes,  gemination,  was  not  an  Old  English  sound 
change,  but  took  place  during  the  period  when  Old  English 
had  not  yet  become  distinguished  from  the  other  languages  of 
the  West  Germanic  group.*^  That  is,  it  was  a  West  Germanic 
sound  change.  The  second  of  them,  i- umlaut,  took  place  in 
Old  English  itself,  at  a  period  later  than  the  change  of  a  to 
ae,  breaking,  and  diphthongisation  by  initial  palatals. 

117.  Gemination.  In  the  West  Germanic  period,  a  single 
consonant(except  r)  preceded  by  a  shorty  vowel  was  geminated 
(or  doubled)  by  a  following  j.    Thus: 

Gmc  "'satjan  (cf.  Gothic  satjan)  became  WGmc  "'sattjan  (cf.  Old  Saxon  settian). 
Gmc  *bit5jan*'  (cf.  Gothic  bidjan)  became  WGmc  '^biddjan  (cf.  Old  Saxon 

biddlan). 
Gmc  '^lagjan  (cf.  Gothic  lagjan)  became  WGmc  *laggjan  (cf.  Old  Saxon  leggian). 

*^  See  Introduction,  Old  English  and  its  Related  Languages. 
^  The  character  t!  represents  the  sound  of  th  as  in  then;  this  Gmc  sound 
became  d  in  West  Germanic. 

60 


GEMINATION  AND  UMLAUT 


61 


118.  Exercise.  Give  the  West  Germanic  forms  of  the 
following  Germanic  words: 

1.  *hlahjan  7.  *domjan  13.  *dunjan 

2.  *skapjaii  8.  *bandjan  14.  *cwaljan 

3.  *framjan  9.  *brugjum  15.  *latjan 

4.  *ligjan  10.  *tunjan  16.  *gramjan 

5.  *skaJ7Jan  11.  *farjan  17.  *swarjan 

6.  *saljaii  12.  *stapjan  18.  *tnunjan 

119.  i-Umlaut.  One  of  the  most  important  sound  changes 
that  took  place  in  Old  English  was  i-umlaut.  Umlaut  in 
general  is  a  change  produced  in  a  vowel  sound  by  some  other 
sound  which  follows  it;  i-umlaut  was  a  change  produced  in  a 
vowel  or  diphthong  by  an  i,  i,  or  j  in  the  following  syllable. 
The  changes  which  took  place  in  Old  English  as  the  result  of 
i-umlaut  are  shown,  with  illustrations,  in  the  following  table: 

a  (o)  before  nasals  became  e**  as  in    menn    from  Prehistoric  OE  ^maiml 


a  became  &, 
a  became  e,** 
e**  became  i 
o"  became  e 


as  in  hselan  from  Prehistoric  OE  *haljan. 

as  in  e^e  from  Prehistoric  OE  *«^. 

as  in  sittan  from  Primitive  Gmc  ^setjanan. 

as  in  dehter  from  Prehistoric  OE  ^dohtri. 


"  As  to  the  interchange  between  a  and  o  see  81.  In  the  earliest  texts  we 
find  ae  as  the  umlaut  of  a  (o)  before  nasals;  in  the  later  texts  the  umlaut  is  e. 

**  Before  two  consonants,  however,  as  in  isestan  from  Prehistoric  OE 
*faestjan,  ae  usually  remained  unchanged.  Before  geminated  consonants  the 
umlaut  of  se  is  e. 

"  The  change  of  e  to  i  was  not  a  part  of  the  OE  umlaut  but  a  Primitive  -; 
I  Gmc  change  which  preceded  that  by  several  centuries.  It  appears  in  the  | 
early  stage  of  all  Gmc  languages. 

**  The  apparent  umlaut  of  o  to  y  in  such  words  as  gylden  beside  gold  is 
really  an  umlaut  of  u  to  y.  A  long  time  before  the  period  of  i-umlaut  these 
words  were  ^gultSinaz  and  '^gultSan.  In  *g,uWaa  the  vowel  u  was  changed  to  o 
under  the  influence  of  the  vowel  a  of  the  following  syllable  (cf.  102),  but  the 
u  remained  unchanged  in  *gultSinaz.  At  the  time  i-umlaut  began  these  words 
were  '"guldin  and  *gold.  Then  *guldiii  became  *gyldin  (later  gylden)  but 
*gold  remained  gold. 


62  ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 

o  became  e  as  in  deman  from  Prehistoric  OE  ^dornjan. 

u  became  y  as  in  fyllan  from  Prehistoric  OE  *fuUjan. 

u  became  y  as  in  tynan  from  Prehistoric  OE  "'tunjan. 

ea  became  ie  (LWS  i  or  y)  as  in  fielj)  from  Prehistoric  OE  "^eaUil*. 

ea  became  ie  (LWS  i  or  y)  as  in  hieran  from  Prehistoric  OE  "'hearjan. 

io*^  became  ie  (LWS  i  or  y)  as  in  wierpj>  from  Prehistoric  OE  *wiorpi|). 

io**  became  ie  (LWS  i  or  y)  as  in  ^e}>iedan  from  Prehistoric  OE  "'^el'iodjan. 

120.  The  changes  which  resulted  from  i-umlaut  took  place 
at  a  date  (roughly  between  500  and  600)  earlier  than  that  of 
our  oldest  records  of  the  language.  By  the  time  of  Alfred  the 
Great  (who  died  in  901)  the  sounds  which  had  caused  umlaut 
had  largely  disappeared  from  the  language.  We  know,  how- 
ever, that  they  existed  at  an  earlier  period,  partly  from  the 
forms  which  we  find  in  the  very  earliest  records  (between  700 
and  800),  and  partly  because  we  can  reconstruct  Prehistoric 
Old  English  by  a  comparison  of  Old  English  with  the  other 
Germanic  languages— Old  Saxon,  Old  High  German,  Old  Norse, 
and  (most  particularly)  Gothic. 

*^The  apparent  umlaut  of  eo  to  ie  which  appears,  e.g.,  in  wierpl»,  pres. 
ind.  3  sing,  of  weorpan,  is  really  an  umlaut  of  io  to  ie.  In  Primitive  Gmc, 
weorpan  was  ^werpanan  and  wlerp)>  was  *werpij>;  the  e  of  *werpilj,  however, 
was  lunlauted  to  i  in  Primitive  Gmc  itself  (see  note  45  above),  so  that  the  Pre- 
historic OE  forms  were  *werpan  and  *wirpil>.  The  e  of  *werpan  was  broken 
to  eo  in  OE  and  the  i  of  *wirpij>  was  broken  to  io  (see  85),  giving  weorpan  and 
*wiorpiJ>.  Then  in  the  period  of  OE  umlaut  *wiorpil>  became  *wlerpil),  later 
wierp|>. 

*8  The  apparent  umlaut  of  eo  to  ie  which  appears,  e.g.,  in  cliefi7,  pres.  ind. 
3  sing,  of  cleofan,  is  really  an  umlaut  of  io  to  ie.  In  Primitive  Gmc  cleofan 
was  ^cleufanan  and  clief|>  was  ^cleufi)*.  But  the  diphthong  eu  was  umlauted 
to  iu  in  Primitive  Gmc  whenever  it  was  followed  in  the  next  syllable  by  i,  i, 
or  i,  so  that  *cleufi|»  became  *cliufii>.  In  OE  these  diphthongs  developed 
respectively  into  eo  and  io,  so  that  the  Prehistoric  OE  forms  were  *cleo£an 
and  *cliofi|>.  Then  in  the  period  of  OE  umlaut  *cliofi|>  became  *cliefil>,  later 
clief)>. 


GEMINATION  AND  UMLAUT 


63 


121.  Exercise.  Convert  the  following  Prehistoric  Old 
English  forms  into  the  forms  that  would  occur  in  the  language 
of  the  year  900,  being  careful  to  observe  that  after  causing 
umlaut 

(1)  Medial  j  disappeared  after  all  consonants  except  single 
r  preceded  by  a  short  vowel  or  short  diphthong;  when  retained 
it  is  written  i. 

(2)  Final  i  disappeared  after  a  long  syllable  (cf.  48),  but 
was  retained  after  a  short  syllable. 

(3)  Unstressed  i,  whether  final  or  interior,  became  e  unless 
it  was  followed  by  a  palatal  consonant. 


1.  *naerjan 

2.  *morgin 

3.  *larjan 

4.  *hwearfjan 

5.  *boci 

6.  *fiorrjan 

7.  *sandjan 

8.  *rarjan 

9.  *ladjan 

10.  ♦brudi 

11.  *slaegi 


12.  *wealini  iAnje*i^-  23.  *bandjan 


13.  *wullin 

14.  *s6cjan 

15.  *fusjan 

16.  *huldi   3<uv^ 

17.  *staedi    ctLAe 

18.  *ealdista 

19.  *saettjan 

20.  *haeti  '^-^ 
21 
22 


24. 

*dali 

25. 

*liohtjan 

26. 

*flasci 

27. 

*wurmi 

28. 

*cuj?jan 

29. 

*sleahti 

30. 

*hugi 

iATVyA^/w^ 


31.  *haerjan 
*eacjan  uiCCA/w  32.  *frammjan 

*softi 


122.  When  we  consider  these  changes  in  the  light  of  the 
explanation  given  in  Chapter  I  of  the  manner  in  which  the 
various  vowel  sounds  are  produced  (see  7-13),  we  see  that  the 
changes  that  result  from  umlaut  are  not  arbitrary  changes, 
but  proceed  upon  a  common  principle.  The  vowels  i  and  i 
are  high  front  vowels,  produced  with  the  front  of  the  tongue 
close  to  the  roof  of  the  mouth,  and  j  is  a  consonantal  variety 
of  the  same  sound.  Now  the  changes  produced  by  i-umlaut 
all  result  in  assimilating  the  umlauted  vowel  or  diphthong 
more  closely  to  the  high  front  vowels  i,  i.  The  back  vowels 
a,  o,  6,  u,  u  become  the  corresponding  front  vowels  ae,  e,  e,  y, 


64  ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 

and  y.'*  The  front  vowels  assimilate  more  closely  to  the  i 
position  by  being  pronounced  with  the  tongue  closer  to  the  roof 
of  the  mouth,  le  being  raised  to  e  and  e  being  raised  to  i. 

Reading 

Appolonius  of  Tyre 

123.  Da  beseah  Arcestrates  se  cyning  bli?5e  andwlitan  to 
ApoUonio  ond  cwaecS,  *'Du  geonga  monn,  beo  bliSe  mid  us  and 
gehyht  on  God  Jjaet  J?u  mote  self  to  tJam  selran  becuman."  Mid 
\>y  t5e  se  cyning  J^as  word  gecwaetS,  tSa  fseringa  |jaer  code  in  ?5aes 
cyninges  geong  dohtor  ond  cyste  hire  f  aeder  ond  ?5a  ymbsittendan. 
J)a  heo  becom  to  ApoUonio,  Jja  gewende  heo  ongean  to  hire  faeder 
and  cwaetS,  "Du  goda  cyning  ond  min  se  leofosta  f aeder,  hwaet  is 
\>e&  geonga  mann  )?e  ongean  Se  on  swa  weortJlicum  setle  sitt 
mid  sarlicum  ondwlitan?  Nat  ic  hwaet  he  besorga<5."  Da 
cwaetS  se  cyning,  "Leofe  dohtor,  Jjes  geonga  monn  is  forliden, 
ond  he  gecwemde  me  manna  betst  on  t5aem  plegan;  for  tSam 
ic  hine  gelatJode  to  ?5isum  urum  gebeorscipe.  Nat  ic  hwaet  he 
is  ne  hwanon  he  is;  ac  gif  tJu  wille  witan  hwaet  he  sle,  asca  hine, 
for  t5am  \>e  gedafenat5  Jjaet  ]>u  wite." 

beo,  imp.  2  person  sing,  of  beon. 
gehyht,  imp.  2  person  sing,  of  ^ehytan. 
sitt,  pres.  ind.  3  person  sing,  of  sittan. 
nit,  contraction  of  ne  wat. 
wile,  pres.  subj.  2  person  sing,  of  willan. 
sie,  pres.  subj.  3  person  sing,  of  been. 
Ssca,  imp.  2  person  sing,  of  ascian. 
wite,  pres.  subj.  2  person  sing,  of  witan. 

*•  The  round  vowels  o  and  6  were  unroimded,  but  u  and  5  retained  their 
rounding,  being  changed  from  back  round  to  front  round  vowels;  see  12,  13, 
and  also  251  with  footnotes  36  and  37. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

Syncopated  Present  Forms  of  Strong  Verbs 
Comparison  of  Adjectives  and  Adverbs 

124.  It  was  stated  in  a  preceding  chapter  (see  67)  that  the 
present  indicative  second  and  third  persons  singular  of  strong 
verbs  are  formed  by  adding  to  the  present  stem  of  the  verb  the 
endings  -est  and  -el>.  Thus  the  second  and  third  persons 
singular  of  cuman  and  brecan  would  be  cumest,  cumeb  and 
brecest,  brece|>.  These  forms  occur  to  a  limited  extent  in  the 
West-Saxon  dialect  and  are  the  prevailing  forms  in  the  Anglian 
dialect.  The  prevailing  forms  in  the  West-Saxon  dialect, 
however,  are  not  cumest,  cume})  and  brecest,  breceK  but 
cymst,  cyml>  and  bricst,  bric|>.  That  is,  the  vowel  of  the  stem 
is  umlauted  in  the  second  and  third  persons  singular  of  the 
present  indicative,  and  the  vowel  of  the  ending  is  syncopated.^ 
These  forms  of  the  verb  have  umlaut  because  the  endings  in 
Prehistoric  Old  English  were  *-is  and  *'i\>, 

125.  In  verbs  whose  stems  end  in  d,  \>,  or  s,  assimilation 
takes  place  when  the  vowel  of  the  ending  -est  is  syncopated. 
Thus, 

d  followed  by  st  becomes  tst,  as  in  bitst  from  bidan ; 

J>  followed  by  st  becomes  tst  or  st  as  in  snitst  from  snitSan, 

cwist  from  cwe'San ; 
8  followed  by  st  becomes  st  as  in  ciest  from  ceosan. 

*'  Syncopation  (or  syncope)  is  the  loss  of  a  vowel  between  two  consonants. 
The  unsyncopated  forms  of  the  Pres.  Ind.  2  and  3  Sing,  are  usually  without 
umlaut,  and  the  syncopated  forms  nearly  always  have  umlaut,  but  it  must  not 
be  supposed  that  the  syncopation  was  the  cause  of  the  imilaut.  The  forms 
without  umlaut  were  later  formations  made  on  the  analogy  of  the  plural  and 
the  first  person  singular,  which  had  no  umlaut. 

65 


66  ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 

In  verbs  whose  stems  end  in  d,  t,  |),  or  s,  assimilation  takes 
place  when  the  vowel  of  the  ending  -ej)  is  syncopated.     Thus, 

d  followed  by  \>  becomes  tt  (or  t)  as  in  bitt  (bit)  from  bidan ; 

t  followed  by  \>  becomes  tt  (or  t)  as  in  writt  (writ)  from 
writan ; 

l>  followed  by  J)  becomes  \t\>  (or  |))  as  in  cwijjj)  (cwi|>)  from 
cwet^an ; 

8  followed  by  \>  becomes  st  as  in  ciest  from  ceosan. 

Double  consonants  are  simplified  when  the  ending  that 
follows  them  is  syncopated,  as  in  fielj)  from  feallan. 

126.  Exercise.  Construct  the  West-Saxon  forms  of  the 
present  indicative  second  and  third  persons  singular  of  the 
following  strong  verbs:  etan,  brucan,  drincan,  helpan,  weor- 
pan,"  beran,  weorSan,®^  gongan,  beodan,^'*  cnawan,  healdan, 
fiowan,  rlsail,  ceosan,'^  sprecan. 

127.  Comparison  of  Adjectives.  The  comparative  degree 
of  adjectives  is  formed  in  Old  English  by  adding  to  the  stem 
-ra;"  the  superlative  is  formed  by  adding  -ost.     For  example: 

glied,  glad  gltedra,  gladder  gladost,  gladdest 

heard,  hard  heardra  heardost 

leof,  dear  leofra  leofost 

rice,  powerful  ricra  ricost 

The  comparative  is  always  declined  weak;  the  superlative  may 
be  declined  either  weak  or  strong;  see  77. 

128.  Some  adjectives,  which  had  in  Prehistoric  Old  English 
the  comparative  and  superlative  endings  *-ira  and  *-ist,  have 
umlaut  in  the  comparative  and  superlative;  these  adjectives 

*'  See  note  47  above. 
"  See  note  48  above. 

"  -ra  for  the  masculine  nominative  singular,  -re  for  the  feminine  and  neuter 
nominative  singular. 


eald,  old 

ieldra 

ieldest 

lang  (long),  long 

lengra 

lengest 

Strang  (strong),  strong 

strengra 

strengest 

st  in  the  superlative: 

heah,  high 

hiehra,  hierra 

hiehst 

SYNCOPATED  PRESENT  FORMS  OF  STRONG  VERBS  67 

have  the  ending  -est  in  the  superlative.  Those  adjectives 
which  are  without  umlaut  had  the  endings  -era  and  -est  in 
Prehistoric  Old  English.  Examples  of  adjectives  that  have 
umlaut  in  the  comparative  and  superlative  are: 


With 


For  further  details  in  regard  to  the  comparison  of  adjectives 
see  the  Reference  Grammar  (364-366). 

129.  Comparison  of  Adverbs.  Adverbs  that  admit  of 
comparison  usually  end  in  e  and  form  their  comparative  and 
superlative  by  adding  to  the  stem  -or  and  -est.     For  example: 

^eorne,  eagerly  ieomor  ieomost 

leoflice,  lovingly  leoflicor  leoflicost 

For  further  details  in  regard  to  the  comparison  and  formation 
of  adverbs  see  the  Reference  Grammar  (378). 

Reading 
ApoUonius  of  Tyre 

130.  Da  code  J?aet  maegden  to  Apollonio  ond  mid  forwan- 
diendre  spraece  cwaeS,  "Deah  '6a  stille  sie  and  unrot,  ])eah  ic 
Jjine  seSelborennesse  on  (5e  geseo.  Nu  ))onne,  gif  ?Se  to  hefig 
ne  )7ynce,  sege  me  jjinne  noman,  ond  ])m  gelimp  arece  me." 
Da  cwajS  Apollonius,  "Gif  Su  for  neode  ascast  aefter  minum 
naman,  ic  secge  J?e,  ic  hine  forleas  on  sa&;  gif  tSti  wilt  mine 
aeSelborennesse  witan,  wite  Su  Jjaet  ic  hie  forlet  on  Tharsum." 
Daet  maigden  cwaeS,  "Sege  me  gewisllcor,  Jjaet  ic  hit  maege 
understandan."  Apollonius  ]>a.  soSlIce  hire  areahte  eall  his 
gelimp  ond  set  jjsere  spraece  ende  him  feoUon  tearas  of  tJjem 
eagum.     Mid  ]?y  ]>e  se  cyning  jjaet  geseah,  he  bewende  hine 


68  ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 

8a  t6  Caere  dohtor  ond  cwaetS,  "Leofe  dohtor,  ]>u  gesyngodest; 
mid  ]>y  ]>e  jjQ  woldest  witan  his  naman  and  his  gelimp,  |>Q 
hafast  nu  geednlwod  his  ealde  sar.  Ac  ic  bidde  \>e  |>aet  \>n 
giefe  him  swa  hwaet  swa  6u  wille." 

forwandlendre.  pres.  participle  of  forwandian. 
sie,  pres.  subj.  2  person  sing,  of  been. 
}>yn£e,  pres.  subj.  3  person  sing,  of  ]^jntan. 
seie,  imp.  2  person  sing,  of  secgan. 
arece,  imp.  2  person  sing,  of  areccan. 
wite,  imp.  2  person  sing,  of  witan. 
nue^e,  pres.  subj.  1  person  sing,  of  magan. 
hafast,  pres.  ind.  2  person  sing,  of  habbaa 


CHAPTER  XVII 
Weak  Verbs  :     Class  I 

131.  Weak  Verbs  (see  49,  50).  There  are  three  classes  of 
weak  verbs  in  Old  English.  In  verbs  of  Class  I  the  infinitive 
ends  in  -an  (but  -ian  when  the  stem  of  the  verb  ends  in  single 
r  preceded  by  a  short  vowel  or  short  diphthong);  the  preterit 
indicative  first  person  singular  ends  in  -ede,  -de,  or  -te;  the 
past  participle  ends  in  -ed,  -d,  or  -t. 

132.  Most  weak  verbs  are  derived  from  nouns,  from  adjec- 
tives, or  from  strong  verbs.  The  relation  of  weak  verbs  to  the 
nouns,  adjectives,  and  strong  verbs  from  which  they  are  derived 
may  be  illustrated  by  some  examples  of  weak  verbs  of  Class  I. 

(1)  From  nouns  are  derived: 

deman,  judge,  from  Gmc  Mom-jan  (cf .  OE  dSm,  judgment) 
cemban,  comb,  from  Gmc  *kamb-jan  (cf.  OE  camb,  comb) 
wemman,  defile,  from  Gmc  ^amm-jan  (cf.  OE  wamm,  stain) 
ferian,  carry,  from  Gmc  *far-jan  (cf.  OE  tsa,  journey). 

(2)  From  adjectives  are  derived: 

^eman,  desire,  from  Gmc  *geni-jaii  (cf.  OE  ieom,  desirous) 
scierpan,  sharpen,  from  Gmc  *skarp-jan  (cf.  OE  scearp,  sharp) 
trjnnmaii,  strengthen,  from  Gmc  *tnuii-jan  (cf.  OE  tnun,  strong) 
fyUan,  fill,  from  Gmc  *full-jan  (cf .  OE  fuU,  full). 

(3)  From  strong  verbs  are  derived: 

wendan,  turn,  from  Gmc  *wtind-ian  (cf .  OE  wand,  pret.  of  windan,  wind) 
drencan,  cause  to  drink,  from  Gmc  ^drank-jan   (cf.  OE  dranc.  pret.  of 
drincan,  drink). 

feran,  go,  from  Gmc  *£or-jan  (cf .  OE  for,  pret.  of  faran,  go) 
settan,  set,  from  Gmc  *sat-jan  (cf .  OE  siet,  pret  of  sittan,  sit) 

69 


70  ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  stems  of  some  of  these  verbs 
(deman,  cemban,  wemman,  giernan,  sclerpan,  fyHan,  wendan, 
drencan,  and  feran)  were  already  long  in  Germanic.  The  stems 
of  others  (ferian,  trymman,  and  settan)  were  originally  short  in 
Germanic.  But  the  stems  of  trymman  and  settan  were  long  in 
Primitive  OE  because  the  final  consonants  m  and  t  were 
geminated  or  doubled  (see  117)  before  the  j  which  followed 
them,  Germanic  *trum-jan  and  *sat-jan  becoming  West  Ger- 
manic *trumm-jan  and  *8att-jan,  which  later  developed  into 
Old  English  trymman  and  settan  (see  119-121).  The  originally 
short  stem  of  ferian,  however,  remained  short  in  Old  English 
because  the  consonant  r  was  not  subject  to  gemination. 

133.  It  has  been  said  that  the  weak  verbs  of  Class  I  have 
as  the  ending  of  the  preterit  indicative  first  person  singular 
either  -ede  or  -de,  -te.  In  order  to  determine  whether  the 
ending  of  a  verb  is  -ede  on  the  one  hand  or  -de,  -te  on  the 
other,  we  must  know  whether  the  stem  of  the  verb  was  ori- 
ginally short  or  originally  long.  The  verbs  whose  stems  were 
originally  short  may  be  recognised  from  the  fact  that  their 
stems  in  Old  English  contain  a  short  vowel  or  short  diphthong 
followed  by  a  geminated  consonant  or  r.  The  verbs  whose 
stems  were  originally  long  may  be  recognised  from  the  fact 
that  their  stems  in  Old  English  contain  either  (1)  a  long  vowel 
or  long  diphthong  or  (2)  a  short  vowel  or  short  diphthong 
followed  by  two  consonants  or  a  double  consonant  that  is  not 
the  result  of  gemination.'* 

"Whether  or  not  a  double  consonant  is  a  geminated  consonant  can  be 
ascertained  only  from  a  knowledge  of  the  etymology  of  the  word  in  which  it 
occurs,  for  there  were  double  consonants  before  the  period  of  gemination. 
For  example,  we  know  that  the  11  of  fyllan  is  not  a  geminated  consonant  because 
it  appears  also  in  the  adjective  full,  and  we  know  that  the  mm  of  trymman  is  a 
geminated  consonant  because  the  corresponding  adjective,  trum,  has  only  a 


WEAK  VERBS:  CLASS  I  71 

134.  Verbs  with  originally  short  stems  form  their  preterit 
indicative  first  person  singular  by  means  of  the  ending  -ede, 
and  their  past  participle  by  means  of  the  ending  -ed.  The 
principal  parts  of  representative  verbs  are  as  follows: 

fremman,  make  fremede  fremed 

trymman,  strengthen  trymede  trymed 

nerlan,  save  nerede  nered 

ferian,  carry  ferede  fered 

135.  Verbs  with  originally  long  stems  form  their  preterit 
indicative  first  person  singular  by  means  of  the  ending  -de  or 
-te;  that  is,  the  middle  vowel  e  is  syncopated  in  these  verbs. 
They  form  their  past  participle  by  means  of  the  ending  -ed. 
When  the  stem  of  the  verb  ends  in  a  voiced  consonant  (see  2), 
the  ending  is  -de;  but  when  the  stem  ends  in  a  voiceless  con- 
sonant, the  ending  is  -te.     Representative  verbs  are: 


deman,  jtidge 

demde 

demed 

dielan,  share 

dielde 

dueled 

cemban,  comb 

cembde 

cembed 

sernan,  gallop 

aande 

terned 

cepan,  keep 

cepte 

ceped 

scierpan,  sharpen 

scierpte 

scierped 

adw^scan,  quench 

Idwiescte 

adwiesced 

lyUan,  fill 

fylde» 

fyUed 

136.  But  verbs  whose  stems  end  in  d  or  t  always  syncopate 
the  middle  vowel  of  the  preterit  ending,  no  matter  whether  the 
stem  was  originally  long  or  originally  short,  so  that  the  ending 
becomes  -de  or  -te.     The  vowel  of  the  ending  of  the  past 

single  m.  But  most  of  the  OE  double  consonants  are  geminated  consonants. 
In  practice,  therefore,  we  may  assume  that  a  double  consonant  is  a  geminated 
consonant  unless  we  know  that  it  did  not  result  from  gemination. 

^'  Note  that  in  verbs  like  fyllan  (see  preceding  note)  the  double  consonant 
is  simplified  in  the  preterit. 


72 


ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 


participle  may  also  be  syncopated,  so  that  it  becomes  -dd  or 

-tt  instead  of  -ed.     Representative  verbs  are: 

hreddan,  save  hredde  hreded,  hredd'* 

settan,  set  sette  seted,  sett 

Uedan,  lead  Indde  l«ded,  Uidd 

metan,  meet  mette  meted,  mett 

Verbs  whose  stems  end  in  d  or  t  preceded  by  another  consonant 
have  only  a  single  d  or  t  in  the  preterit  and  in  the  syncopated 
form  of  the  past  participle.     Examples  are: 

wendan,  turn  wende  wended,  wend 

fiestan,  make  fast  fieste  tested,  ftest 

137.  Exercise.  Form  the  principal  parts  of  the  following 
weak  verbs  of  Class  I:  haelan,  herian,  fedan,  wenan,  sendan, 
betan,  swencan,  hlynnan,  temman,  erian,  glengan." 

138.  The  full  conjugation  of  weak  verbs  of  Class  I,  exempli- 
fied by  fremman,  nerian,  and  deman,  is  as  follows: 

INDICATIVE 


Present  Sing.  1 
2 

fremme 
fremest 

nerie 
nerest 

deme 
demest,  demst 

3 
Plur.  1,  2,  3 

freme]> 
fremma)) 

nerel> 
neria}> 

demel>,  dem}> 
demal> 

Preterit  Sing.  1 
2 

fremede 
fremedest 

nerede 
neredest 

demde 
demdest 

3 

fremede 

nerede 

demde 

Plur.  1,  2,  3 

fremedon 

neredon 

demdon 

Present  Sing.  1,  2,  3 
Plur.  1,  2,  3 

SUBJUNCTIVE 
fremme                 nerie 
fremmen               nerien 

deme 
demen 

Preterit  Sing.  1,  2,  3 
Plur.  1,  2,  3 

fremede 
fremeden 

nerede 
nereden 

demde 
demden 

"  These  past  participles  in  -dd,  -tt  were  also  written  with  a  single  d  or  t; 
see  240. 

'^The  double  consonants  in  hlynnan  and  temman  are  geminated  con- 
sonants;^see  note^54. 


WEAK  VERBS:  CLASS  I  73 

IMPERATIVE 

Present  Sing.  2  freme  nere  dSm 

Plur.  2  fremma)>  neria)>  demal> 

Infinitive  fremman  nerian  deman 

Gerund  t5  fremmenne  td  nerienne  to  detnenne 

Present  Participle  fremmende  neriende  demende 

Past  Participle  fremed  nered  demed 

139.  For  the  indicative  endings  employed  in  this  conjuga- 
tion see  51  and  67.  The  subjunctive  endings  are  the  same  as 
those  of  the  strong  verb:  -e  in  the  singular  and  -en  in  the 
plural.  Verbs  with  originally  long  stems  (e.g.,  deman)  have 
no  ending  in  the  imperative  singular;  verbs  with  originally 
short  stems  (e.g.,  fremman  and  nerian)  have  the  ending  -e. 

140.  With  regard  to  the  inflection  of  weak  verbs  of  Class  I, 
the  following  points  should  be  noted: 

(1)  That  in  the  present    indicative,    present    subjunctive, 
imperative,  infinitive,  gerund,  and  present  participle, 

(a)  Verbs  like  nerian  prefix  i  to  the  endings  except  in 
the  present  indicative  second  and  third  singular 
and  the  imperative  singular; 

(b)  Verbs  like  fremman  have  a  geminated  consonant 
following  the  radical  vowel  except  in  the  present 
indicative  second  and  third  singular  and  the  impera- 
tive singular; 

(2)  That  in  the  preterit    indicative,    preterit    subjunctive, 
and  past  participle, 

(a)  Verbs  like  nerian  do  not  prefix  i  to  the  endings; 

(b)  Verbs  like  fremman  do  not  have  a  geminated  con- 
sonant following  the  radical  vowel. 

Reading 
Apollonius  of  Tyre 

141.  Da  Sa  )?3et  maegden  gehierde  J^aet  hire  waes  aliefed 
from  hire  faeder  |?aet  heo  aer  hire  self  gedon  wolde,  t5a  cwaetS  heo 


74  ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 

t5  Apollonio,  "Apolloni,  soSlice  ]?u  eart  ure,  ForlSt  Jjine 
murcnunge,  ond  nu  ic  mines  faeder  leafe  haebbe,  ic  gedo  t5e 
weligne."  Apollonius  hire  Jjaes  jjancode,  and  se  cyning  blis- 
sode  on  his  dohtor  welwillendnesse  ond  hire  to  cwaeS,  "Leofe 
dohtor,  hat  feccan  )?ine  hearpan,  and  gecleg  t5e  to  Jjine  friend, 
ond  afeorsa  fram  })am  geongan  his  sarnesse."  Da  eode  heo 
tit  ond  het  feccan  hire  hearpan,  and  sona  swa  heo  hearpian 
ongann,  heo  mid  wynsumum  songe  gemengde  ]>&Te  hearpan 
sweg.  Da  ongunnon  ealle  ])a,  menn  hie  herian  on  hire  sweg- 
craefte,  ond  Apollonius  ana  swigode.  Da  cwaeS  se  cyning, 
"Apolloni,  nu  3u  dest  yfele,  for  Saem  pe  ealle  menn  heriaS  mine 
dohtor  on  hire  swegcraefte,  and  )?u  ana  hie  swigiende  tselst." 
Apollonius  cwaeS,  "Eala  Su  goda  cyning,  gif  (5u  me  geliefst, 
ic  secge  Jjaet  ic  ongiete  ]jaet  soSlice  J}in  dohtor  gefeoll  on  sweg- 
craeft,  ac  heo  naefS  hine  na  wel  geleornod.  Ac  hat  me  nu 
sellan  \>a.  hearpan;  jjonne  wast  )7U  )7aet  ])vl  giet  nast."  Arces- 
trates  se  cyning  cwaeS,  "Apolloni,  ic  oncnawe  sotSlice  })aet  l?u 
eart  on  eallum  )?ingum  wel  geljered." 

hsebbe,  pres.  ind.  1  person  sing,  of  habban. 

|ed5,  pres.  ind.  1  person  sing,  of  ^edSn. 

)>aiicode,  used  with  genitive  of  the  object. 

dohtor,  gen.  sing,  of  dohtor. 

friend,  ace.  plur.  of  freond. 

afeorsa,  imp.  2  person  sing,  of  afeorsian. 

dest,  pres.  ind.  2  person  sing,  of  don. 

swigiende,  pres.  participle  of  swigian. 

nteftS,  contraction  of  ne  and  haeftS,  pres.  ind.  3  person  sing,  of  habban. 

wast,  pres.  ind.  2  person  sing,  of  witan. 

nast,  contraction  of  ne  and  wast,  pres.  ind.  2  person  sing,  of  witan. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

Weak  Verbs:     Class  I 

142.  The  peculiarities  of  inflection  which  were  noted  in 
paragraph  140,  tho  they  might  seem  to  be  merely  arbitrary, 
are  the  result  of  regular  sound  changes.  The  Germanic  forms 
from  which  were  derived  the  Old  English  forms  of  the  present 
indicative  of  fremman,  nerian,  and  deman  were: 


Sing.  1     *framjo 

"'nazjo 

*d5mj5 

2     *frainis 

"'nazis 

"'domis 

3     *framilj 

*nazili 

*d6mij) 

Plur.  3    *£ramjanj> 

*naxjan\> 

*doiiijant> 

The  infinitive  forms  were  *fi 

ramjan,  *n{ 

izjan,  and 

and  the  j  which  we  see  in  the  infinitive,  the  first  person  singular, 
and  the  plural  extended  also  thruout  the  present  subjunctive, 
the  imperative  plural,  and  the  present  participle. 

143.  The   Prehistoric   Old   English   forms   of   the   present 
indicative  of  these  verbs,  before  the  period  of  i-umlaut,  were: 
Sing.  1     *frammju  *naerju"  *d6inju'* 

2  *framis  *naBris  *d5inis"' 

3  *framil»  *naeri|)  *domi|> 
Plur.  3    *£raninijal»           *iuerja]>             *domja|? 

**  For  the  change  of  z  to  r  see  note  32  above. 

"  In  WS  the  old  ending  -u  was  replaced  by  the  subjunctive  ending  -e. 

'"  The  ending  -is,  which  occurs  only  in  the  oldest  texts,  developed  regularly 
into  -es,  but  the  usual  OE  ending  is  -est.  The  t  of  this  ending  was  acquired 
from  the  \t  of  Jju.  When  \>u  followed  its  verb  it  often  coalesced  with  it,  so  that 
demes  |)u  became  demestu;  then  from  demestu  was  derived,  by  a  false  word 
division,  the  form  demest  as  that  of  the  present  indicative  2  sing.  The  ending 
-est  of  the  preterit  indicative  2  sing,  had  a  similar  origin. 

75 


76  ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 

The  infinitives  were  *frammjan,  *naBrjan,  and  *domjan.     It 

will  be  observed  that  in  *frammjan  the  final  consonant  of  the 
stem  has  been  geminated  wherever  it  was  followed  by  j.  This 
gemination,  as  we  learned  in  Chapter  XV,  took  place  in  West 
Germanic.  Gemination  did  not  take  place  in  the  second  and 
third  persons  singular,  because  no  j  followed  the  m;  nor  did  it 
take  place,  for  the  same  reason,  in  the  imperative  singular, 
which  in  Prehistoric  Old  English  was  *framl.  But  in  all  the 
other  forms  of  the  present  tenses  the  m  was  followed  by  j 
and  was  therefore  geminated.  In  accordance,  however,  with 
the  law  stated  in  117,  gemination  did  not  take  place  in  verbs 
like  deman  whose  stems  were  originally  long.  Nor  did  it  take 
place  in  verbs  like  nerian  with  originally  short  stems  ending 
in  r.  It  took  place,  however,  in  all  verbs  like  fremman  whose 
stems  were  originally  short  and  ended  in  a  consonant  other 
than  r. 

144.  In  Prehistoric  Old  English  the  preterit  indicative  forms 
of  fremman,  nerian,  and  deman  were: 


Sing.  1 

'^framide 

"'nieride 

*domide 

2 

"^framldes 

*meride8 

*domides 

3 

^framide 

*iueride 

*domIde 

Plur.3 

*frainidun 

*iiieridun 

"'ddmidun 

The  past  participles  were  *framid,  *narid,  and  *d6mid.  From 
these  forms  the  later  Old  English  forms  were  derived.  The 
Middle  vowel  i  became  e  after  causing  umlaut,  and  then  was 
syncopated  if  the  stem  was  long,  but  was  retained  if  the  stem 
was  short.  Since  the  preterit  forms  contained  no  j,  no  gemina- 
tion took  place  and  the  original  length  of  the  stem  remained 
unchanged.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  we  are  obliged  to  consider 
the  original  length  of  the  stem  (see  134,  135)  in  order  to  know 
whether  the  preterit  ending  of  a  verb  is  -de  (-te)  on  the  one 
hand  or  -ede  on  the  other. 


WEAK  VERBS:  CLASS  I  77 

145.  Since  every  form  of  the  weak  verbs  of  Class  I  thus  far 
discussed  contained  in  the  syllable  following  the  stem  either 
an  i  or  a  j,  it  is  obvious  that  the  vowel  of  the  stem  would  be 
umlauted  thruout  the  whole  conjugation;  *frammjan  therefore 
became  *fremmjan,  *naerjan  became  nerjan,  and  *d6injan 
became  *demjan,  in  accordance  with  the  sound  change  explained 
in  Chapter  XV.  After  causing  umlaut,  j  disappeared  except 
in  verbs  like  nerian  with  originally  short  stems  ending  in  r; 
in  those  verbs  it  was  retained,  usually  being  written  i.®^ 

146.  Verbs  without  a  Middle  Vowel.  There  are  some  weak 
verbs  of  Class  I,  however,  which  have  umlaut  only  in  the 
present  forms  and  not  in  the  preterit  and  past  participle; 
examples  are: 

tellan,  count  tealde  teald 

cweccan,  shake  cweahte  cweaht 

secan,  seek  s5hte  soht 

The  lack  of  umlaut  in  the  preterit  and  past  participle  is 
explained  by  the  fact  that  the  preterit  and  past  participle  of 
these  verbs  lacked  the  middle  vowel  i  which  caused  umlaut  in 
the  preterit  and  past  participle  of  most  verbs  of  Class  I.  The 
principal  parts  in  Prehistoric  Old  English  were: 

*telljan  *telde  *t«ld 

*cwaeccjan  *cwaBhte  *cwaBht 

*socjan  *8ohte  *s5ht 

In  the  infinitive  and  present  forms  the  vowel  of  the  stem  was 
umlauted  as  in  other  weak  verbs  of  Class  I.  In  the  preterit 
and  past  participle,  however,  no  cause  of  umlaut  was  present, 
and  the  vowel  of  the  stem  remained  unmodified  unless,  as  in 
*taelde  and  *cwaBhte,  the  vowel  was  followed  by  a  consonant 
or  consonant  combination  which  caused  breaking   (see   85). 

*'  It  is  also  written  g,  ge,  ig,  and  ige,  as  in  nerian,  nergean,  neri^an, 
neri^ean;  the  sound  is  always  that  of  j. 


78 


ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 


We  may  therefore  divide  these 
which  have  and  those  which  do 
the  preterit  and  past  participle, 
are: 

(1)  cweccan,  shake 
streccan,  stretch 
|7eccaii,  cover 
cwellan,  kill 
sellan,  give 
tellan,  count 

(2)  bycgan,"  buy 
secan,  seek 
t^can,  teach 
wyrcan,"  work 
brengan  (bringan),  bring 
l^encan,  think 
t>]mcaii,  seem 


verbs  into  two  classes,  those 

not  have  a  broken  vowel  in 

The  more  important  verbs 


cweahte'^ 

streahte" 

|»eahte«* 

cwealde 

sealde 

tealde 

bohte 

85hte 

tahte«* 

worhte 

brSbte 

]>5bte 

)>ulite 


cweaht 

streaht 

l>eaht 

cweald 

seald 

teald 

boht 

solit 

taht 

worht 

broht** 

boht 

Mit 


Reading 

Apollonius  of  Tyre 

147.  Da  het  se  cyning  sellan  ApoUonie  Jja  hearpan.  Apol- 
lonius J?a  ut  code  and  hine  scrydde  ond  sette  anne  cynehelm 
uppan  his  heafod  ond  nam  J?a  hearpan  on  his  hond  and  in  code 
and  swa  stod  )?aet  se  cyning  and  ealle  Jja  ymbsittendan  wendon 
}?aet  he  naere  Apollonius  ac  Jjaet  he  waere  Apollines,  Sara  haeSenra 
god.     Da   weartJ   stilness   ond   swige    geworden   innan   Ssere 


"  In  these  verbs  the  umlauted  vowel  of  the  infinitive  and  present  was 
often  introduced  by  analogy  into  the  preterit  and  past  participle,  giving  cwehte, 
strehte,  )>ehte,  tiehte  and  cweht,  streht,  ]>eht,  tsbht. 

•*  eg  is  the  regidar  OE  gemination  of  g;  for  the  relation  between  y  and  o 
see  note  46  above. 

"  The  apparent  irregularities  of  this  verb  and  of  the  two  which  follow  it 
were  the  result  of  regular  sound  changes,  some  of  which  took  place  in  Primitive 
Germanic.  (See  231.)  The  form  bringan,  which  is  more  frequent  than  brengan, 
belongs  to  an  old  strong  verb  like  bindan. 


WEAK  VERBS:  CLASS  I  79 

healle,  and  Apollonius  his  hearpenaegel  genam,  ond  he  Jja 
hearpestrengas  mid  craefte  astyrian  ongonn  ond  ]7sere  hearpan 
sweg  mid  wynsumum  songe  gemengde.  Ond  se  cyning  self 
ond  ealle  \)e  )?aer  andwearde  waeron  micelre  stefne  clipodon  and 
hine  heredon.  ^fter  Jjissum  forlet  Apollonius  pa.  hearpan 
ond  plegode  ond  fela  faegerra  J?inga  Ip&x  forSteah  pe  J?am  folce 
ungecnawen  waes  ond  ungewunellc,  and  heom  eallum  Jjearle 
licode  aelc  Jjara  J?inga  Se  he  fortSteah. 

SoSlIce  mid  py  ]>e  jjaes  cyninges  dohtor  geseah  Jjaet  Apollonius 
on  eallum  godum  craeftum  swa  wel  waes  getogen,  ]?a  gefeoll 
hire  mod  on  his  lufe.  Da  aefter  J?aes  beorscipes  geendunge 
cwaeS  Jjaet  maegden  to  Sam  cyninge,  "Leofa  faeder,  ]?u  liefdest 
me  lytle  ser  J)aet  ic  m5ste  giefan  Apollonio  swa  hwaet  swa  ic 
wolde  of  J?mum  goldhorde."  Arcestrates  se  cyning  cwaeS  to 
hire,  "Gief  him  swa  hwaet  swa  ?Su  wille." 


CHAPTER  XIX 

Strong  Verbs  with  j-Presents;  Numerals 

148.  Certain  strong  verbs  of  Classes  V  and  VI  are  not 
conjugated  in  the  present  like  other  strong  verbs,  but  like 
fremman;  that  is,  (1)  the  final  consonant  of  the  stem  is  gemi- 
nated (see  117  and  143)  except  in  the  second  and  third  indica- 
tive singular  and  the  imperative  singular,  and  (2)  the  vowel  of 
the  stem  is  umlauted  (see  119)  thruout.  Thus,  biddan,  of 
Class  V,  is  conjugated  in  the  present  indicative,  present  sub- 
junctive, and  imperative  as  follows: 


Present  Indicative    Sing.  1 

bidde 

2 

bitst,  bidest 

3 

bitt,  blde]> 

■piur.  1,2,3 

bidda|> 

Present  Subjunctive  Sing.  1,  2,  3 

bidde 

Plur.  1,  2,  3 

bidden 

Present  Imperative   Sing.  2 

bide 

Plur.  2 

bidda|> 

149.  The  most  important  of  these  verbs  are: 

Class  V.       biddan,  from  Primitive  Germanic  *be?5janan" 
licgan,**  from  Primitive  Germanic  *legjanan 
sittan,    from  Primitive  Germanic  *setjanan 

••  The  original  e  of  the  infinitive  and  present  of  this  verb  and  the  two  that 
foUow  it  was  umlauted  to  i  in  Primitive  Germanic;  see  note  45  above. 
**  eg  is  the  regular  OE  gemination  of  Germanic  g. 

80 


STRONG  VERBS  WITH  J-  PRESENTS;  NUMERALS 


81 


Class  VI.  hebban,'^  from  Primitive  Germanic  *habjanan" 
Ulehhan,'*  from  Primitive  Germanic  ^hlahjanan 
8cieppan,^°  from  Primitive  Germanic  ^skapjanan 
8ceJ>l)an,^*  from  Primitive  Germanic  '''skalijanan 
steppan,      from  Primitive  Germanic  *stapjanan 

One  verb  of  Class  VI  is  conjugated  in  the  present  like  nerian: 
swerian,"  from  Primitive  Germanic  ^swarjanan. 

One  verb  of  Class  VII  is  conjugated  in  the  present  like  deman: 
wepan,  from  Primitive  Germanic  '"wopjanan. 


150.  Except  in  the 

present  these  verbs  are 

conjugated  like 

other  strong  verbs  of 

their 

respective  classes. 

The  principal 

parts  are  as  follows: 

Class  V.        biddan,  ask 

bied            b£don 

beden" 

licgan,  lie 

be^             liegon 

le^en 

sittan,  sit 

s^et              s^eton 

seten 

Class  VI.      hebban,  heave 

hof              hofon 

hafen'« 

bliehhan,  laugh 

bloh            hl5gon'^ 

scieppan,  create 

sc5p            scopon 

sceapen'* 

8ce|>i>an,  injure 

scod           scodon^^ 

steppan,  step 

st5p             stopon 

stapen 

swerian,  swear 

8w5r           sworon 

swaren,  sworen 

Class  VII.    wepan,  weep 

weop           weopon 

wopen 

"  bb  is  the  regular  OE  gemination  of  Germanic  b;  see  note  68  below. 

•'  The  character  b  represents  a  sound  somewhat  like  Modem  English  v. 

••  In  this  verb  the  original  a  of  the  infinitive  and  present,  having  changed 
to  ae  in  Prehistoric  OE,  was  first  broken  to  ea  before  bh  (see  85)  and  then 
umlauted  to  ie. 

""  In  this  verb  the  original  a  was  first  changed  to  le  in  Prehistoric  OE, 
was  then  diphthongised  to  ea  by  the  initial  sc  (see  91),  and  was  then  umlauted 
to  ie. 

"  This  form  is  irregular;  we  should  have  sdel>|>an  from  *skaHanan,  just 
as  we  have  scieppan  from  ^skapjanan. 

"*  For  the  preservation  of  j  see  145. 

"  Note  the  absence  of  umlaut  in  the  past  participle  of  these  verbs. 

^*  Note  the  absence  of  umlaut  in  the  past  participle  of  these  verbs. 

^*  Observe  the  grammatical  change  in  this  verb,  and  compare  note  32  above. 

^*  This  form  is  from  Prehistoric  OE  '^sctepen,  the  te  being  diphthongised 
to  ea  by  the  initial  sc  (see  91). 

'"  Observe  the  grammatical  change  in  this  verb,  and  compare  note  32  above. 


82  ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 

151.  Numerals.  The  ordinal  numerals  (e.g.,  forma,  first, 
))ridda,  third)  are  declined  like  weak  adjectives.^^  Of  the 
cardinal  numbers,  only  the  first  three  are  regularly  declined. 

(1)  an,  one,  is  declined  like  a  strong  adjective,  but  has 
either  anne  or  senne  in  the  masculine  accusative  singular 
and  either  ane  or  aene  in  the  masculine  and  neuter 
instrumental  singular. 

(2)  The  declension  of  twe|en,  two,  is  as  follows: 

Plur.  Masculine  Feminine  Neuter 

Nom.,  Ace.  tweien  twa  tu,  twi 

Gen.  twega,  twe|ra  twega,  twe^ra  twega,  twe^a 

Dat.,  Inst.  twiem,  twam  twsem,  twam  twsm,  twam 

(3)  The  declension  of  tJrie,  three,  is  as  follows: 

Plur.  Masculine  Feminine  Neuter 

Nom.,  Ace.  tJrie  tJreo  tJreo 

Gen.  tSreora  tSreora  tSreora 

Dat.,  Inst.  t(iim  9rim  Srim 

The  other  cardinal  numbers  are  generally  not  inflected.  They 
are  chiefly  used  either  as  indeclinable  adjectives  or  as  nouns 
governing  the  genitive;  for  example,  on  fif  dagum,  in  five  days; 
'Sriti^  daga,  thirty  days. 

For  further  information  in  regard  to  the  numerals  see  the 
Reference  Grammar  (370-374.) 

Reading 
ApoUonius  of  Tyre 

152.  Heo  ?5a  swlt5e  blltSe  ut  code  and  cwaeS,  "Lareow  Apol- 
loni,  ic  giefe  Jje  be  mines  faeder  leafe  twa  hund  punda  goldes 
ond  feower  hund  punda  gewihte  seolfres  ond  J?one  msestan 
dsel  deorweortSes  reafes  ond  twentig  Seowra  monna."     And 

^*  Except  otfer,  second. 


STRONG  VERBS  WITH  J-PRESENTS;  NUMERALS  83 

heo  )?a  pus  cwaeS  to  SSm  jjeowum  mannum,  "BeraS  J?as  )?ing 
mid  eow  pe  ic  behet  Apollonio,  minum  lareowe,  ond  lecgatJ 
innan  bure  beforan  mlnum  freondum."  pis  weart5  \>a.  )7us 
gedon  sefter  )?sere  cwene  hsese,  ond  ealle  J?a  menn  hire  giefa 
heredon  Se  hie  gesawon.  Da  soSlIce  geendode  se  gebeorscipe, 
ond  Jja  menn  ealle  arison  and  gretton  ]7one  cyning  ond  Sa 
cwene  ond  baedon  hie  gesunde  beon  and  ham  gewendon. 
Eac  swelce  ApoUonius  cwaeS,  "Du  goda  cyning  ond  earmra 
gemiltsiend  ond  )?u  cwen  lare  lufiend,  beon  ge  gesunde."  He 
beseah  eac  to  (5am  J?eowum  monnum  ]?e  )7aet  maegden  him  for- 
giefen  haefde  ond  him  cwaet5  to,  "NimaS  J?as  })ing  mid  eow  pe 
me  seo  cwen  f orgeaf ,  and  gan  we  sedan  tire  giesthus  past  we  magon 
us  gerestan."  Da  ondred  Jjaet  maegden  |7aet  heo  njefre  eft 
Apollonium  ne  gesawe  swa  hraeSe  swa  heo  wolde  ond  code  J?a 
to  hire  faeder  and  cwaeS,  *'Du  goda  cyning,  llca(5  tSe  wel  J?aet 
ApoUonius,  pe  Jjurh  us  todaeg  gegodod  is,  J?us  heonon  fare,  ond 
cumen  yfele  menn  ond  bereafien  hine?"  Se  cyning  cwaetS, 
"Wel  ])u  cwaede.  Hat  him  findan  hwser  he  hine  maege  weorS- 
llcost  gerestan." 

iewihte,  instrumental. 
gedon,  past  participle  of  §edon. 
gan,  pres.  subj.  1  person  plural  of  gan. 

gin  .  .  .  secan;  secan  is  a  complementary  infinitive  after  a  verb  of  motion, 
to  be  translated  usually  by  the  present  participle:  go  .  .  .  seeking. 
magon,  pres.  ind.  1  person  plur.  of  magan. 
gesawe,  pret.  subj.  3  person  sing,  of  ^eseon. 
bereafien,  pres.  subj.  3  person  plur.  of  bereafian. 
maege,  pres.  subj.  3  person  sing,  of  magan. 


'  CHAPTER  XX 
Weak  Verbs:    Classes  II  and  III 

153.  Weak  Verbs:  Class  II.  The  weak  verbs  of  Class  II 
are  easily  recognised.  They  have  -ian^'  in  the  infinitive,  -ode 
in  the  preterit  indicative  first  person  singular,  and  -od  in  the 
past  participle;  the  principal  parts  are  as  follows: 

lufian,  love  lufode  lofod 

154.  The  full  conjugation  of  weak  verbs  of  Class  II,  exem- 
plified by  lufian,  is  as  follows : 

INDICATIVE 


Present  Sing. 

1 

lufie 

2 

lufast 

3 

lafal> 

Plur. 

1, 

2,3 

lufial> 

Preterit  Sing. 

1 

lufode 

2 

lufodest 

3 

lufode 

Plur. 

1, 

2,3 

lufodon 

SUBJUNCTIVE 

Present  Sing. 

1, 

2,3 

lufie 

Plur. 

1, 

2,3 

lufien 

Preterit  Sing. 

1, 

2,3 

lufode 

Plur. 

1, 

2,3 

Infoden 

^*  This  ending  is  also  written  -i^an  and  -i^ean,  but  the  sound  is  always 
that  of  -ian.  The  endings  -ian,  etc.,  of  2  weak  verbs  are  to  be  distinguished 
from  the  -ian,  etc.,  of  1  weak  verbs.  In  lufian  the  ending  -Ian  is  two  syllables; 
in  nerian  it  is  only  one.  The  i  which  appears  in  the  infinitive  and  other  forms 
of  the  2  weak  verbs  did  not  cause  umlaut  because  it  was  not  i  but  5j  at  the 
time  at  which  umlaut  began  to  operate.  This  oj  then  became  ej  and  sub- 
sequently L    See  434, 435. 

84 


WEAK  VERBS:  CLASSES  U  AND  HI 


85 


IMPERATIVE 

Present  Sing.  2 

lufa 

Plur.  2 

lafiat> 

Infinitive 

faifian 

Gerund 

to  lafienne 

Present  Participle 

lufiende 

Past  Participle 

lafod 

155.  Weak  Verbs:  Class  III.  The  third  class  of  weak 
verbs  was  originally  as  definite  in  its  characteristics  as  the  other 
two  classes.  In  Old  English,  however,  only  a  very  small 
number  of  verbs  belong  to  this  class,  and  these  retain  only  in 
part  the  original  features  of  the  conjugation.  See  436.  The 
principal  parts  of  the  chief  Old  English  verbs  of  Class  III  are: 

habban,  have  hiefde  biefd 

hycgan,  think  hogde  hogod 

libban,  live  lifde  lifd 

secgan,  say  sse^de  ss^d 


156.  The  early  West-Saxon  forms  of  habban  and  libban 
were  as  follows: 

INDICATIVE 


Present  Sing.  1 

h«ebbe 

fibbe 

2 

luef st,  hafast 

liofast 

3 

hxi\>,  halaY 

Uofa]> 

Plur.  1,  2,  3 

hiebbal>,  habba]> 

libbab 

Preterit  Sing.  1 

b«fde 

lifde 

2 

haefdest 

fifdest 

3 

luefde 

lifde 

Plur.  1,  2,  3 

hfefdon 

SUBJUNCTIVE 

lifdon 

Present  Sing.  1,  2,  3 

hiebbe 

Ubbe 

Plur.  1,  2,  3 

hiebben 

fibben 

Preterit  Sing.  1,  2,  3 

luefde 

lifde 

Plur.  1,  2,  3 

hiefden 

lifden 

86 


ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 


IMPERATIVE 

Present  Sing.  2 

hafa 

liofa 

Plur.  2 

habba)> 

libbali 

Infinitive 

habban 

libban 

Gerund 

to  habbenne 

to  libbenne 

Present  Participle 

htebbende 

libbende,  lifiende 

Past  Partiple 

hxid 

Reading 

liid 

ApoUonius  of  Tyre 

157.  Da  dyde  })aet  maegden  swa  hire  beboden  waes,  ond 
ApoUonius  onfeng  jjaere  wununge  t5e  him  getaht  waes  ond  Saer 
in  code  Gode  )?onciende  ?5e  him  ne  forwiernde  cynellces  weorS- 
scipes  and  frofres.  Ac  J>aet  maegden  haefde  unstille  niht  mid 
Jjsere  lufe  onaeled  ))ara  worda  and  sanga  ])e  heo  gehlerde  act 
ApoUonie,  ond  na  leng  heo  ne  gebad  Sonne  hit  daeg  waes,  ac 
code  sona  swa  hit  leoht  waes  and  gesaet  beforan  hire  faeder  bedde. 
Da  cwae?5  se  cyning,  "Leofe  dohtor,  for  hwy  eart  Su  Jjus 
ftrwacol?"  Daet  maegden  cwaet5,  "Me  aweahton  Ipa.  gecneord- 
nessa  ]>e  ic  giestrandaeg  gehlerde.  Nu  bidde  ic  Se  for  Sam 
}>aet  ]7u  befaeste  me  tirum  cuman  ApoUonie  t5  lare."  Da  wearS 
se  cyning  jjearle  geblissod  ond  het  feccan  Apollonium  ond  him 
to  cwaeS,  "Min  dohtor  giernS  )?aet  heo  mote  leornian  aet  Se  Sa 
gesaeligan  lare  Se  ]?u  canst,  and  gif  Su  wilt  J)isum  J)ingum 
gehlersum  beon,  ic  swerie  Se  )?urh  mines  rices  maegenu  )?aet 
swa  hwaet  swa  Su  on  sje  forlure  ic  Se  ])xt  on  lande  gestaSelie." 
Da  Sa  ApoUonius  l?aet  gehlerde,  he  onfeng  ]?am  maegdene  to 
lare  ond  hire  tahte  swa  wel  swa  he  self  geleornode. 

onfeng,  formernde,  note  that  these  verbs  take  the  dat.  and  gen.  respec- 
tively, instead  of  the  accusative. 

mSte,  pres.  subj.  3  person  sing,  of  motan. 
canst,  pres.  ind.  2  person  sing,  of  cunnan. 


CHAPTER  XXI 
Anomalous  Verbs;  u-Declension 
158.  The  conjugation  of  beon,  be,  is  as  follows: 
INDICATIVE 


Present  Sing.  1 

eom 

beo 

2 

eart 

bist 

3 

Is 

bil> 

Plur.  1,  2,  3 

sindon,  sind,  slnt 
SUBJUNCTIVE 

beo|) 

Present  Sing.  1,  2,  3 

sie 

beo 

Plur.  1,  2,  3 

sien 

IMPERATIVE 

beon 

Present  Sing.  2 

beo 

Plur.  2 

beo]> 

Infinitive 

beon 

Gerund 

to  beonne 

Present  Participle 

beonde 

The  preterit  forms  are  supplied  by  the  strong  verb  wesan,  be: 

INDICATIVE  SUBJUNCTIVE 

Preterit  Sing.  1  waes  Preterit  Sing.  1,  2,  3        wiere 


2 

3 

Plur.  1,  2,  3 


wiere*" 

wses 

w«ron 


Plur.  1,  2,  3        wJeren* 


*°  Observe  the  grammatical  change  in  this  verb,  and  compare  note  32  above. 

*'  wesan  is  also  used  in  the  present  indicative,  present  subjunctive,  impera- 
tive, and  present  participle;  when  so  used  it  is  conjugated  like  a  strong  verb 
of  Class  V. 

87 


88 


ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 


159.  The  conjugation  of  don,  do,  is  as  follows: 


INDICATIVE 


Present  Sing.  1 

2 

3 

Plur.  1,  2,  3 

Preterit  Sing.  1 

2 

3 

Plur.  1,  2,  3 


do 

dest 

deb 

do|) 

dyde 

dydest 

dyde 

dydon 


SUBJUNCTIVE 
Present  Sing.  1,  2,  3        d5 


Plur.  1,  2,  3        don 
Preterit  Sing.  1,  2,  3        dyde 


Plur.  1,  2,  3        dyden 


IMPERATIVE 


Present  Sing.  2  do 

Plur.  2  doI» 

Infinitive  don 

Gerund  to  d5nne 

Present  Participle  ddnde 

Past  Participle  d5n 

160.  The  forms  that  serve  as  the  preterit  indicative  and 
subjunctive  of  gan,  go,  are  from  a  root  which  is  different  from 
that  of  the  infinitive  and  present  forms.  The  conjugation  is 
as  follows: 


INDICATIVE 

Present  Sing.  1  ga 

2  i&st 

3  g«J> 
Plur.  1,  2,  3  gab 

Preterit  Sing.  1  code 

2  eodest 

3  eode 
Plur.  1,  2,  3  eodon 


SUBJUNCTIVE 
Present  Sing.  1,  2,  3        gi 


Plur.  1,  2,  3 
Preterit  Sing.  1,  2,  3 


gan 
eode 


eoden 


Plur.  1,  2,  3 
IMPERATIVE 
Present  Sing.  2        ga 

Plur.  2        gab 
Infinitive  gan 

Gerund  to  ganne 

Present  Participle    (gangende)" 
Past  Participle         gan 

^gande,  the  present  participle  of  gan,  does  not  occur  in  West-Saxon, 
and  its  place  is  supplied  by  the  present  participle  of  gangan,  a  strong  verb  of 
Class  Vn. 


ANOMALOUS  VERBS;  U-DECLENSION 
161.  The  conjugation  of  willan,  will,  is  as  follows: 


89 


INDICATIVE 

SUBJUNCTIVE 

Present  Sing.  1 

wille 

Present  Sing.  1,  2,  3 

wiUe 

2 

wilt 

3 

wile 

Plur.  1,  2,  3 

willat> 

Plur.  1,  2,  3 

willen 

Preterit  Sing.  1 

wolde 

Preterit  Sing.  1,  2,  3 

wolde 

2 

woldest 

3 

wolde 

Plur.  1,  2,  3 

woldon 

Plur.  1,  2,  3 

wolden 

Infinitive 

willan 

Gerund 

to  willenne 

Present  Participle        willende 

162.  Contraction.  The  various  forms  of  willan  often 
undergo  contraction  with  the  preceding  negative  ne,  not; 
ne  wile,  for  example,  contracts  to  nile  (also  nyle  or  nele); 
ne  wolde  contracts  to  nolde.  Contraction  with  ne  is  likewise 
undergone  by  those  forms  of  been  which  begin  with  a  vowel, 
by  the  various  forms  of  wesan,  and  by  the  various  forms  of 
habban;  ne  is,  for  example,  contracts  to  nis,  ne  waes  to  naes, 
and  ne  habba}?  to  nabbaj). 

163.  u-Declension.  The  u-declension  is  that  according 
to  which  are  declined  all  masculine  and  a  few  feminine  nouns 
which  end  in  -u.^ 


**  All  of  these  nouns  have  short  stems,  the  final  u  having  been  lost  in  nouns 
with  long  stems,  just  as  it  was  lost  in  the  Nom.-Acc.  Plur.  of  long-stemmed 
nouns  of  the  neuter  a-declension  and  in  the  Nom.  Sing,  of  long-stemmed  nouns 
of  the  feminine  o-declension  (see  48,  55).  Long-stemmed  nouns  of  the  u- 
declension  for  the  most  part  went  over  to  the  masculine  a-and  feminine  6- 
declensions,  but  a  few  nouns  retain  forms  belonging  to  the  u-declension.  For 
example,  feld,  field,  (masculine)  has  the  endings  of  either  the  u-declension  or 
the  masculine  a-declension: 

Sing.  Nom.    feld  Plur.  Nom.,  Ace.    felda,  feldas 

Gen.      felda,  feldes  Gen.  felda 


90 


ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 


164.  Paradigms  of  sunu,  son,  (masculine),  and  duru,  door, 
(feminine): 

Plur. 
duru  Nom.,  Ace.     suna        dura 

dura  Gen.  suna        dura 

dura  Dat.,  Inst,      sunum     durum 

duru 
dura 


Sing. 

Nom. 

sunu 

Gen. 

suna 

Dat. 

suna 

Ace. 

sunu 

Inst. 

suna 

Reading 
ApoUonius  of  Tyre 
165.  Hit  gelamp  Sa  aefter  jjissum  binnan  feawum  tidum 
Jjset  Arcestrates  se  cyning  heold  ApoUonius  hond  on  honda  and 
eodon  swa  ut  on  Szere  ceastre  strgete.  ])a  set  nlehstan  comon 
tSaer  gan  ongean  hie  J^rle  gelserede  weras  ond  ae]7elborene  )?a 
longe  £er  gierndon  Jjaes  cyninges  dohtor.  Hie  Sa  ealle  ))rie 
togaedere  anre  stefne  gretton  Sone  cyning.  Da  smearcode  se 
cyning  and  him  to  beseah  and  ]?us  cwasS,  "Hwaet  is  ]?aet,  )?aet  ge 
me  anre  stefne  gretton?"  Da  andswarode  heora  an  and  cw^eS,, 
"We  bSdon  gefyrn  ]?inre  dohtor,  ond  )?u  us  oftrsedlice  mid 
elcunge  geswenctest.  For  (5am  we  comon  hider  todaeg  Jjus 
togaedere.  We  sindon  pine  ceastergewaran  of  a;(5elum  gebyr- 
dum  geborene;  nu  bidde  we  pe  pxt  p\i  geceose  pe  anne  of  us 
}?rim,  hwelcne  )?u  wille  pe  to  aSume  habban."  Da  cwaeS 
se  cyning,  "Na^bbe  ge  na  godne  timan  aredodne;  mln  dohtor  is 
nu  swi'Se  bisig  ymbe  hire  leornunge.  Ac,  pe  Ises  pe  ic  eow  a 
leng  slacie,  awrlta'5  eowere  noman  on  gewrite  ond  hire  mor- 
gengiefe.     ponne  asende  ic  pa,  gewritu  minre  dohtor  ]7aet  heo 


Dat.      felda,  felde  Dat.,  Inst,      feldum 

Ace.       feld 

Inst,      felda,  felde 

Of  the  long-stemmed  feminines  which  retain  forms  belonging  to  the  u-declen- 
sion,  hand  is  the  most  important  example. 


ANOMALOUS  VERBS;  U-DECLENSION  91 

self  geceose  hwelcne  eower  heo  wille."  Da  dydon  Sa  cnihtas 
swa,  ond  se  cyning  nam  Sa  gewritu  and  geinseglode  hie  mid 
his  hringe  and  sealde  Apollonio  Jjus  cweSende,  "Nim  nu, 
lareow  Apolloni,  swa  hit  ])e  ne  misllcie,  ond  bring  ])Inum  leering- 
maegdene."  Da  nam  Apollonius  pa  gewritu  and  code  to 
Saere  cynellcan  healle. 

comon  .  .  .  gan;  gin  is  a  complementary  infinitive  after  a  verb  of  motion : 
came  .  .  .  ■walking. 

debtor,  gen.  and  dat.  sing,  of  debtor. 

bidde,  we,  naebbe  ^e;  when  the  plural  pronoun  subjects  we  or  ^e  imme- 
diately follow  the  verb,  the  ending  -e  is  often  used  instead  of  the  regular  plural 
endings  -aj)  or  -on.- 

eower;  the  MS  has  eoweme. 


CHAPTER  XXII 
Minor  Noun  Declensions 

166.  man- Declension.  The  man- declension  is  that  accord- 
ing to  which  are  declined  a  small  but  important  group  of 
masculine  and  feminine  nouns  most  of  which  are  monosyllables 
ending  in  a  consonant.  The  distinctive  feature  of  this  declen- 
sion is  that  the  dative  singular  and  nominative  plural  are  with- 
out endings  but  have  umlaut  of  the  vowel  of  the  stem;  the 
umlaut  is  the  result  of  the  fact  that  the  Germanic  endings  in 
the  dative  singular  and  nominative  plural  were  *-i  and  *-iz. 

167.  Paradigms  of  mann  (monn),  man,  and  fot,  foot,  (mas- 
culine); and  boc,  book,  and  burg,  city,  (feminine): 


Sing.  Nom. 

mflnn 

f5t 

boc 

burg 

Gen. 

mannes 

fotes 

bee,  boce 

byri,  byrii 

Dat 

menn 

fet 

ha 

byri,  byri^ 

Ace. 

mann 

fot 

bSe 

burg 

Inst. 

menn 

fet 

b» 

byr^,  hyni 

Plur.  Nom., 

,Acc, 

,  menn 

fet 

ha 

byr^,  byrij 

Gen. 

manna 

fSta 

boca 

burga 

Dat, 

Inst, 

,  mannum 

fStiun 

bocum 

burgum 

Other  nouns  belonging  to  this  declension  are  to|?,  tooth,  plural 
te\>,  (masculine),  and  gos,  goose,  plural  ges,  (feminine). 

168.  nd-Declension.  The  nd-declension  is  that  according 
to  which  are  declined  present  participles  used  as  nouns;  they 
are  of  the  masculine  gender  and  always  end  in  -nd.  This 
declension  is  similar  in  its  characteristics  to  the  man-declension. 

92 


MINOR  NOUN  DECLENSIONS 


93 


169.  Paradigms  of  freond,  friend,  and  hettend,  enemy: 


Sing.  Nom. 

freond 

hettend 

Gen. 

freondes 

hettendes 

Dat. 

friend 

hettende 

Ace. 

freond 

hettend 

Inst. 

friend 

hettende 

Plur.  Nom. 

,  Ace. 

friend 

hettend 

Gen. 

freonda 

hettendra" 

Dat., 

Inst. 

freondum 

hettendum 

170.  r-Declension.  The  r-declension  is  that  according  to 
which  are  declined  the  nouns  of  relationship  ending  in  -r:  faeder, 
father,  brStJor,  brother,  (masculine);  and  modor,  mother,  dohtor, 
daughter,  sweostor,  sister,  (feminine). 

171.  Paradigms  of  faeder,  bro'Sor,  and  sweostor: 


Sing.  Nom. 

feeder 

brotSor 

sweostor 

Gen. 

fsder 

brotSor 

sweostor 

Dat. 

feeder 

bretSer 

sweostor 

Ace. 

faeder 

brStJor 

sweostor 

Inst. 

faeder 

bretter 

sweostor 

Plur.  Nom. 

,  Ace. 

foideras 

brStSor 

sweostor 

Gen. 

faedera 

bro'Sra 

sweostra 

Dat, 

Inst. 

faederum 

bro'Srum 

sweostrum 

172.  A  few  neuter  nouns,  chiefly  lamb  (lomb),  lamh,  cealf, 
calf,  «g,  egg,  and  (sometimes)  cild,  child,  have  preceding  the 
endings  in  the  plural  an  r  which  does  not  appear  in  the  singular. 


173.  Paradigm 

of  lamb; 

Sing.  Nom. 

Iamb 

Plur.  Nom.,  Ace. 

lambru 

Gen. 

lambes 

Gen. 

lambra 

Dat. 

lambe 

Dat.,  Inst. 

lambrum 

Ace. 

lamb 

Inst. 

lambe 

'  The  ending  -ra  of  the  genitive  plural  is  from  the  adjective  decension. 


94  ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 

Reading 
Apollonius  of  Tyre 
174.  Mid  J?am  \)e  jjaet  maegden  geseah  Apollonium,  J?a  cwaetJ 
heo,  "Lareow,  hwy  gsest  ?5u  ana?"  Apollonius  cwaeS,  "Hlaef- 
dige,  .  .  .  nim  (5as  gewritu  t5e  jjln  faeder  jje  sende  ond  rsed." 
Dset  maegden  nam  ond  raedde  ))ara  Jjreora  cnihta  naman,  ac 
heo  ne  funde  na  )7one  noman  J>seron  ]?e  heo  wolde.  Da  heo  ])a 
gewritu  oferraedd  haefde,  t5a  beseah  heo  to  Apollonio  and  cwaeS, 
"Lareow,  ne  of)?yncS  hit  Se  gif  ic  ])\is  wer  geceose?"  Apol- 
lonius cwae'S,  "Na,  ac  ic  blissie  swlSor  Saet  }?u  meaht  Surh  (5a 
lare  Ipe  ])u  aet  me  underfenge  ])e  self  on  gewrite  gecy'San  hwelcne 
heora  Ipn  wille.  Min  willa  is  ]7aet  ])n  Se  wer  geceose  jjaer  Sti  self 
wille."  past  maegden  cwae'S,  "Eala  lareow,  gif  '5u  me  lufodest, 
]7U  hit  besorgodest."  ^Efter  j^issum  wordum  heo  mid  modes 
anraednesse  awrat  oSer  gewrit  ond  J?aet  geinseglode  and  sealde 
Apollonio.  Apollonius  hit  )?a  ut  baer  on  Sa  strSte  ond  sealde 
)7am  cyninge.  Daet  gewrit  waes  Jjus  gewriten:  "J)u  goda 
cyning  and  min  se  leofosta  faeder,  nu  |)In  mildheortnes  me 
leafe  sealde  Jjaet  ic  self  moste  ceosan  hwelcne  wer  ic  wolde,  ic 
secge  Se  to  soSe,  )}one  forlidenah  monn  ic  wille.  And  gif  t5u 
wundrie  Jjaet  swa  scamfaest  fsemne  swa  unforwandiendllce  t5as 
word  awrat,  )7onne  wite  J?u  )?aet  ic  haebbe  ]7urh  weax  aboden, 
(5e  nane  scame  ne  conn,  J^aet  ic  self  Se  for  scame  secgan  ne 
mihte." 

hliefdi^e,  .  .  .  ;  the  words  that  follow  hliefdi^e  in  the  MS  (nass  git  yfel 
wif)  are  unintelligible. 

funde,  a  weak  preterit  of  findan. 

meaht,  pres.  ind.  2  person  sing,  of  magan. 

wite,  imp.  2  sing,  of  witan. 

cona,  pres.  ind.  3  person  sing,  of  cunnan. 


-^ 


( 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

Preteritive-Present  Verbs 


t 


L/ 


175.  The  preteritive-present  verbs,  or  strong- weak  verbs, 
which  are  a  feature  of  all  the  Germanic  languages,  are  so  called 
because  their  present  indicative  and  subjunctive  forms  were 
originally  the  preterit  indicative  and  subjunctive  of  strong 
verbs.  These  old  preterits  acquired  a  present  meaning,  the 
old  presents  were  lost,  and  new  weak  preterits  were  formed  on 
the  basis  of  the  stem  of  the  present  (originally  preterit)  indica- 
tive plural.  Upon  the  basis  of  the  present  indicative  plural 
stem  were  also  made  new  forms  for  the  imperative,  infinitive, 
gerund,  and  present  participle.  For  example,  man  (men)  and 
munon  were  originally  the  preterit  indicative  1  and  3  singular 
and  preterit  indicative  plural  of  a  strong  verb  meaning  remem- 
ber; their  meaning  changed  from  preterit  to  present; and  a  new 
weak  preterit  indicative  1  and  3  singular  munde  was  formed 
from  the  stem  of  munon.  The  principal  parts  of  these  verbs 
are:  (1)  the  infinitive,  (2)  the  present  indicative  third  person 
singular,  (3)  the  present  indicative  plural,  and  (4)  the  preterit 
indicative  third  person  singular.  The  verbs,  with  their  princi- 
pal parts,  are  as  follows: 


agan,  possess 

ah 

agon 

ahte 

cunnan,  know,  be  able 

cann. 

coim 

cunnon 

cutSe 

dugan,  avail 

deag 

dugon 

dohte 

durran,  dare 

dearr 

durron 

dorste 

magan,  be  able 

nue^ 

magon 

meahte, 

mihte 

motan,  be  permitted 

mot 

m5ton 

moste 

munan,  remember 

man. 

mon 

munon,  muna}) 

munde 

(ie)nugan,  suffice 

neah 

nngon 

nohte 

95 


96  ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 


sculan,  be  under  obligation 

sceal 

sculon 

scolde,  sceolde 

ttorfan,  need 

tJearf 

tSurfon 

tJorfte 

ttiinan,  grant 

ann,  onn 

unnon 

utSe 

witan.  know 

wat« 

witon 

wisse.    wiste" 

176.  The  most  important  of  these  verbs  are  agan,  cunnan, 
magan,  motan,  sculan,  and  witan.  The  first  of  these  has  become 
the  Modern  English  verb  own;  cunnan,  magan,  motan,  and 
sculan  survive  (with  more  or  less  change  of  meaning)  in  Modern 
English  can,  may,  must,  and  shall;  witan  survives  in  (archaic) 
Modern  English  wot. 

177.  With  regard  to  the  conjugation  of  the  preteritive- 
present  verbs  the  following  points  should  be  noted: 

(1)  The  present  indicative  is  conjugated  like  the  preterit 
indicative  of  strong  verbs,  except  that  the  second  person 
singular  is  formed  from  the  singular,  not  the  plural, 
stem,  and  that  it  has  the  old  ending  -t  (or  -st)  instead 
of  -e. 

(2)  The  preterit  indicative  has  the  endings  of  the  preterit 
indicative  of  weak  verbs. 

(3)  The  subjunctive  has  the  regular  endings,  -e  in  the 
singular  and  -en  in  the  plural,  but  the  present  subjunc- 
tive frequently  has  umlaut  of  the  vowel  of  the  stem. 

(4)  The  past  participle  has  the  strong  ending  -en. 

**  Negative  forms  (contracted  with  ne)  are  nat,  nyton,  niste,  etc. 
••  In  this  list  the  verbs  are  given,  for  convenience  of  reference,  in  alpha- 
betical order,  but  they  are  usually  classified  according  to  the  class  of  strong 
verbs  to  which  they  originally  belonged;  this  classification  is  as  follows: 
Class     I    witan,  agan 
II    dugan 
III    cunnan,  durran,  tSurfan,  onnan 
rV    munan,  sculan 
V    magan,  nugan 
VI    motan 


PRETERITIVE-PRESENT  VERBS 


97 


178.  Synopsis  of  the  conjugation  of  the  preteritive-present 

verbs  :^ 


Pres.  Ind.  Sing.  1 

ah 

cann, 
conn 

deag 

dearr 

2 

iilist 

canst 

dearst 

3 

ah 

cann, 
conn 

deag 

dearr 

Plur.  1,  2, 

3  agon 

cunnon 

dugon 

durron 

Pret.  Ind.  Sing.  3 

ahte 

cutSe 

dohte 

dorste 

Pres.  Subj.  Sing. 

age 

cunne 

duge,  dy^e 

durre, 
dyne 

Infinitive 

agan 

cnnnan 

dugan 

dnnran 

Present  Participle 

dugende 

Past  Participle 

agen,  £|en 

cunnen 

Pres.  Ind.  Sing.  1 

maei 

mot 

2 

meaht 

most 

manst,  monst 

3 

maei 

mot 

man,  mon 

neah 

Plur.  1,  2, 

3  magon 

mSton 

munon,  munal> 

nugon 

Pres.  Ind.  Sing.  3 

meahte,  mihte 

moste 

munde 

nohte 

Pres.  Subj.  Sing. 

msB^e 

mote 

mune,  myne 

nuge 

Infinitive 

magan 

motan 

munan 

nugan 

Present  Participle 

munende 

Past  Participle 

' 

nmnen 

Pres.  Ind.  Sing.  1 

sceal 

9earf 

ann, onn 

wat 

2 

scealt 

tiearft 

wast 

3 

sceal 

tSearf 

ann,  onn 

wat 

Plur.  1,  2, 

3  sculon 

tSurfon 

unnon 

witon 

Pret.  Ind.  Sing.  3 

scolde,  sceolde 

tk>rfte 

u'Se 

wisse, 
wiste 

"^  A  blank  space  in  the  synopsis  indicates  that  the  form  belonging  in  this 
space  does  not  occur.  The  infinitives  durran,  motan,  and  nugan  do  not  occur, 
but  their  forms  can  be  inferred  with  tolerable  certainty  and  are  convenient  for 
purposes  of  reference. 


98  ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 


Pres.  Subj.  Sing. 

scale,  scyle 

t$urfe,        unne 
<Jyrfe 

wite 

Infinitive 

sculan 

t$urfan      unnan 

witan 

Present  Participle 

tSearfende 

witende 

Past  Participle 

unnen 

when 

The  imperative  forms  that  occur  are:  age ;  mun  (mune,  myne), 
muna]>;  unne;  wite,  witai>. 

Reading 
Apollonius  of  Tyre 

179,  Da  Sa  se  cyning  haefde  )?aet  gewrit  oferrsedd,  pa,  niste 
he  hwelcne  forlidenne  heo  nemde,  beseah  Sa  to  Ssem  )?rim 
cnihtum  ond  cwaeS,  "Hwelc  eower  is  forliden?"  Da  cwaetS 
heora  an,  se  hatte  Ardalius,  "Ic  eom  forliden."  Se  oSer  him 
andwyrde  and  cwaeS,  "Swiga  Su!  Adl  Jje  fornime,  pszt  Ipu  ne 
beo  hal  ne  gesund!  Mid  me  )?u  boccrseft  leornodest,  ond  Su 
naefre  buton  ]3aere  ceastre  geate  from  me  ne  come.  Hwser 
gefore  Su  forlidennesse?"  Mid  Sy  Ipe  se  cyning  ne  meahte 
findan  hwelc  heora  forliden  wjere,  he  beseah  to  Apollonio  and 
cwaeS,  "Nim  Su,  Apolloni,  ]7is  gewrit  ond  rjed  hit.  EaSe  maeg 
geweorSan  J?aet  ]7U  wite  pxt  ic  nat,  t)u  Se  pdbv  ondweard  waere." 
Da  nam  Apollonius  j^aet  gewrit  and-  rjedde,  and  sona  swa  he 
ongeat  jjget  he  gelufod  waes  from  '5am  maegdene  his  ondwlita 
eall  areodode.  Da  se  cyning  ]?set  geseah,  J?a  nam  he  Apollonies 
hand  ond  hine  hwon  fram  jjam  cnihtum  gewende  and  cwaet5, 
"Wast  pu  Jjone  forlidenan  monn?"  Apollonius  cwasS,  "Du 
goda  cyning,  gif  ]?in  willa  biS,  ic  hine  wat."  Da  geseah  se 
cyning  J)aet  Apollonius  mid  rosan  rude  waes  eall  oferbrjeded, 
pa.  ongeat  he  }?one  cwide  and  Jjus  cwse.'S  to  him,  "Blissa,  blissa, 
Apolloni,  for  Saem  pe  min  dohtor  gewilnaS  J^aes  Se  min  willa  is. 
Ne  maig  soSlice  on  )?ylllcum  ]?ingum  nan  ]>ing  geweorSan  buton 
Godes  willan."  Arcestrates  beseah  to  Sam  )?rim  cnihtum  and 
cwaeS,  "SoS  is  )?aet  ic  eow  aer  ssegde,  J^aet  ge  ne  comon  on  gedafen- 


PRETERITIVE-PRESENT  VERBS  99 

licre  tide  minre  dohtor  to  biddenne ;  ac  )7onne  heo  mseg  hi  f  ram  hire 
lare  gesemettigian,  Jjonne  sende  ic  eow  word."  Da  gewendon 
hie  ham  mid  )7isse  ondsware. 

hatte,  was  named;  this  form  and  the  corresponding  plural  hatton  are  the 
only  traces  in  Old  English  of  the  Germanic  passive  voice. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

Contract  Verbs 

Review  of  Sound  Changes 

180.  About  the  beginning  of  the  historical  period  of  Old 
English  and  after  the  period  of  i- umlaut,  intervocalic  h  was  lost 
and  the  two  vowels  (or  diphthong  and  vowel)  thus  brought 
together  contracted  into  a  single  long  vowel  or  long  diphthong. 
As  a  result  of  these  changes,  irregularities  arose  in  those  strong 
verbs  whose  stems  ended  in  -h.  The  principal  parts  of  the  most 
important  of  these  verbs  (which  are  known  as  Contract  Verbs) 
are  as  follows: 


Class  I 

9eon,  thrive 

from  Prehistoric  OE 

;*9nian 

Z5h 

tSigon" 

tSi^en 

wreon,  cover 

<c 

(( 

(( 

Vrihan 

wrah 

wrigon" 

wri^en 

Class  II 

fleon,  flee 

l( 

ft 

« 

*fleo1ian 

fleah 

flugon" 

flogen 

teon,  draw 

(( 

(( 

<( 

"'teohan 

teah 

togon«» 

togen 

Class  m 

feolan,  reach 

« 

« 

« 

*felhan» 

fealh 

fulgon»« 

folen 

Class  V 

feon,  rejoice 

<t 

« 

« 

*iekan 

feah 

tegon" 

sSon,  see 

« 

« 

<( 

*8ehan 

seah 

sawon 

sewen 

"  Observe  the  grammatical  change  in  this  verb,  and  compare  note  32  above, 
"  *felhan  became  '4eoUiaii  by  breaking  of  e  before  Ih;  h  was  then  lost,  and 
eo  was  lengthened  to  eo.  The  loss  of  h  between  1  or  r  and  a  vowel,  with  lengthen- 
ing of  the  preceding  vowel  or  diphthong,  occurred  regularly  in  Prehistoric  OE; 
for  example,  seolh,  seal,  has  as  its  genitive  singular  seoles,  and  mearh,  horse, 
has  as  its  genitive  singular  meares. 

100 


CONTRACT  VERBS;  REVIEW  OF  SOUND  CHANGES  101 

Class  VI 
slean,  strike        "  "         "     *skehan         slog       slogon'*'       slagen 

tSwean,  wash       "  "         "     *9waehan       tJwog     tiwogon'"    Swagen 

Class  VII 
fon,  seize  "  "         "     *f6han»'         feng       fengon*"      fangen 

fongen 
hon,  hang  "  "         "     *hohan"        heng      hengon"     hangen 

hongen 

181.  Because  of  the  resemblance  in  the  infinitive  between 
the  contract  verbs  of  Class  I  and  those  of  Class  II,  96011  and 
wreon  of  Class  I  often  formed  their  preterit  and  past  participle 
after  the  analogy  of  fleon  and  teon  of  Class  II;  the  principal 
parts  of  Seen,  thrive,  and  wreon,  cover,  according  to  Class  II 
are: 

9eon  t$eah  9ugon  tSogen'^ 

wreon  wreah  wrugon  wrogen 

182.  The  irregularities  of  the  contract  verbs  are  confined 
to  the  present  forms;  thruout  the  rest  of  the  conjugation  they 
are  inflected  like  other  strong  verbs  of  their  respective  classes. 

'°  Observe  the  grammatical  change  in  this  verb. 

"  This  form  developed  regularly  out  of  Primitive  Germanic  *fanhanan; 
the  n  which  was  lost  in  the  radical  syllable  of  the  infinitive  and  present  is  pre- 
served in  the  preterit  and  past  participle. 

''This  form  developed  regularly  out  of  Primitive  Germanic  ^hanhanan; 
the  n  which  was  lost  in  the  radical  syllable  of  the  infinitive  and  present  is 
preserved  in  the  preterit  and  past  participle. 

"  tJeon  was  Primitive  Germanic  *t$enhanan,  a  strong  verb  of  Class  III, 
which  developed  regularly  into  Prehistoric  OE  ""Sihan.  Because  of  its  resem- 
blance to  bidan,  etc.,  *Sihan  went  over  to  Class  I.  But  some  of  the  old  forms 
according  to  Class  III  still  remained  in  use,  so  that  we  have,  in  addition  to  the 
forms  according  to  Classes  I  and  II  (see  181)  the  preterit  plural  tSungon  and 
the  past  participle  tSungen  according  to  Class  III. 


102 


ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 


The  contract  verbs,  exemplified  by  tJeon,  fleon,  seon,  slean, 

and  fon,  are  inflected  in  the  present  as  follows: 


INDICATIVE 

Pres.  Sing.  1 

Zeo 

fleo 

seo 

slea 

fo 

2 

tSiehst 

fliehst 

siehst 

sliehst 

fehst 

3 

t$iehl> 

fllehi> 

sleht> 

slleh)> 

feli]> 

Plur.  1,  2,  3 

tJeoj) 

fleob 

seo)> 

sleal> 

f5)> 

SUBJUNCTIVE 

Pres.  Sing.  1,  2,  3 

tSeo 

fleo 

seo 

slea 

f5 

Plur.  1,  2,  3 

'Seon 

fleon 

seon 

slean 

fon 

IMPERATIVE 

Pres.  Sing.  2 

tSeoh 

fleoh 

seoh 

sleah 

foh 

Plur.  2 

tJeo|j 

fleo]> 

8eo]> 

slea|> 

io\f 

Infinitive 

tieon 

fleon 

seon 

slean 

fon 

Gerund 

t5  Seonne 

to  fleonne 

to  seonne 

to  sleanne 

to  f onne 

Pres.  Participle 

tieonde 

fleonde 

seonde 

sleande 

fonde 

183.  The  irregularities  that  we  observe  in  the  inflection  of 
these  verbs  are  the  result  of  the  regular  operation  of  sound 
changes  that  we  have  already  studied  in  preceding  chapters. 
The  operation  of  these  sound  changes  may  be  shown  by  tracing 
the  development  of  the  infinitive  and  present  indicative  first, 
second,  and  third  singular  of  each  of  the  representative  verbs 
whose  inflection  was  given  in  the  preceding  paragraph. 

(1)  The  infinitive  tJeon  is  from  Prehistoric  OE  *'Sihan. 
The  i  was  broken  to  io  before  h  (see  note  28  above), 
resulting  in  *'8iohan ;  then,  after  the  loss  of  intervocalic 
h,  the  diphthong  io  absorbed  the  vowel  of  the  following 
syllable,  giving  the  form  'Sion,  later  tJeon. 

The  present  indicative  first  singular  tJeo  is  from  Pre- 
historic OE  *'3ihu.  The  i  was  broken  to  io  before  h, 
resulting  in  *'5iohu ;  then,  after  the  loss  of  intervocalic 
h,  the  diphthong  io  absorbed  the  vowel  of  the  following 
syllable,  giving  the  form  tJio,  later  Seo. 


CONTRACT  VERBS;  REVIEW  OF  SOUND  CHANGES  103 

The  present  indicative  second  and  third  singular 
tSiehst  and  tJiehl?  are  from  Prehistoric  OE  *'5ihi8  and 
*3ihil),  which,  by  breaking  of  i,  became  *'8iohis  and 
*?Jiohi|>,  and  then,  by  i-umlaut,  *'5iehis  and  *'Siehi|?. 
The  syncopation,  which  was  earlier  than  the  loss  of 
intervocalic  h,  resulted  in  the  forms  '5iehs(t)  and  'Sieh]). 

(2)  The  infinitive  fleon  and  the  present  indicative  first 
singular  fleo  are  from  Prehistoric  OE  *fleohan  and 
*fleohu,  which,  after  the  loss  of  intervocalic  h,  con- 
tracted into  fleon  and  fleo. 

The  present  indicative  second  and  third  singular 
fiiehst  and  fiiieh])  are  from  Prehistoric  OE  *£liohis  and 
*fliohiJ>,^  which  by  i-umlaut  became  *fliehis  and 
*fliehil>  and  then,  by  syncopation,  fliehsCt)  and  flieh}>. 

(3)  The  infinitive  seen  and  the  present  indicative  first 
singular  sec  are  from  Prehistoric  OE  ""sehan  and  *8ehu ; 
the  breaking  of  e  to  eo  before  h  resulted  in  *seohan  and 
*seohu,  which  after  the  loss  of  intervocalic  h  contracted 
into  seen  and  sec,  the  short  eo  being  lengthened  by  its 
absorption  of  the  vowel  of  the  following  syllable. 

The  present  indicative  second  and  third  singular 
siehst  and  sieh})  are  from  Prehistoric  OE  *sihi8  and 
*sihil?  (from  Primitive  Germanic  *8ehi8  and  *8ehi|>, 
see  note  45  above).  The  i  was  broken  to  io,  resulting 
in  *siohi8  and  *siohil?,  which  were  first  umlauted  to 
*siehis  and  *8iehil7  and  then,  before  the  loss  of  inter- 
vocalic h,  syncopated  to  8ieh8(t)  and  sieh};. 

(4)  The  infinitive  and  present  indicative  first  singular 
slean  and  slea  are  from  Prehistoric  OE  *8laehaii  (from 
older  *slahan)  and  ^slaehu  (from  older  *8lahu).     The 

•*For  the  interchange  between  eo  and  io  in  Prehistoric  OE  see  note  48 
above. 


104  ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 

ae  was  broken  to  ea,  resulting  in  "^sleahan  and  *sleahu, 
which  after  loss  of  intervocalic  h  contracted  into  slean 
and  slea,  the  short  ea  being  lengthened  by  its  absorp- 
tion of  the  vowel  of  the  following  syllable. 

The  present  indicative  second  and  third  singular 
sliehst  and  slieh))  are  from  Prehistoric  OE  *slaehis  and 
^slaehi})  (from  older  ""slahis  and  *slahi|)).  The  ae  was 
broken  to  ea,  resulting  in  *sleahis  and  "'sleahi)),  which 
were  first  umlauted  to  *8liehi8  and  *sHehiJ>  and  then, 
before  the  loss  of  intervocalic  h,  syncopated  to  8lieh8(t) 
and  slieh)). 

(5)  The  infinitive  and  present  indicative  singular  fon 
and  fo  are  from  Prehistoric  OE  *fohaii  and  *f6hu,  which, 
after  loss  of  intervocalic  h,  contracted  into  fon  and  fo. 
The  present  indicative  second  and  third  singular 
lehst  and  fehj)  are  from  Prehistoric  OE  *f6his  and 
*f5hib,  which  were  first  umlauted  to  *fehi8  and  *fehi|> 
and  then,  before  the  loss  of  intervocalic  h,  syncopated 
to  feh8(t)  and  feh|>. 

184.  Chronology  of  Sound  Changes.  The  sound  changes 
which  have  been  dealt  with  in  this  and  the  preceding  chapters 
occurred  in  the  following  chronological  order: 

Primitive  Germanic  Period:  Umlaut  of  e  to  i  (note  45)  and 

of    cu    to     iu     (note    48). 

Change  of  e  to  i  before  a  double 

nasal  or  a  rfasal  plus  another 

consonant  (102). 

West  Germanic  Period:  Gemination  (117,  118). 

Old  English  Period:  Change  of  a  to  ae  or  o  (80-82). 

Breaking  (85,  86). 
J)  Diphthongisation  by  initial 

palatals  (91,  92). 
i-Umlaut  (119-122). 


L 


CONTRACT  VERBS;  REVIEW  OF  SOUND  CHANGES  105 

Loss    of   i   and    u    after   long 

syllables  (48,  55,  121). 
Syncopation    (124,    135,    144) 

and  loss  of  medial  j   (121). 
Change  of  unstressed  i  to   e 

(121). 
Loss   of  intervocalic   h    (180- 

183). 

185.*  Convert  the  following  Primitive  Germanic  forms 
into  the  OE  forms  that  would  occur  in  the  language  of  the 
year  900 :  $r '  ^^^^^^  (V^  ^  -*-  D 

*werpij>  *satjan(an)  *teuhan(an)      ,         *legjan(an) 

*lagjan(an)'<        *sehijj  *farjan(an)  f-«^  i  ~    *tunjan(an)     vvy>^ 

*setjan(an)  *gernjan(an)  *fleutan(an)  *framjan(an) 

*felhij>  Y^^      *teuhij7  *stapjan(aii)  *domjan(an) 

*bendan(an)  *fleutij7  *fulljan(an) 


Convert  the  following  Prehistoric  OE  forms  into  the  forms 
that  would  occur  in  the  language  of  the  year  900:  ^(j  -fv^jg. 

•faht  *eacjani2,c(v^  *d6mide  *halp 

\*c&XA  *gjfeton (5^i«A>%  *fliohil7  *mahte 


r/j' 


y 


^^    *larjan  *langira^^  *silii}>  *g£er 

\*J^>v      *gellan  *slahan  ♦manni  *fehtan 

X^swarjan  *sceran  *domi)>  *ahta 

*hugi  .         *gall»'  *s6cian  <,itc«MVN  *sceld 

^c:^*haljan  .^„  *falh  *bragd" 

*  These  exercises  may  be  used  as  material  for  a  review  of  OE  phonology. 
In  working  out  the  forms  the  student  should  observe  carefully  the  chronology 
of  the  changes  and  should  refer  when  necessary  to  the  appropriate  places  in 
the  book  for  information  as  to  the  precise  conditions  imder  which  the  changes 
took  place. 

»•  The  letters  in  parentheses  represent  a  syllable  that  was  lost,  in  all  proba- 
bility, before  the  end  of  the  Germanic  period. 

"  The  g  in  this  word  was  a  back  g  in  the  earliest  stage  of  Prehistoric  OE. 
But  after  the  vowel  a  changed  to  «.  the  g  was  palatalised,  that  is  fronted,  and 
became  ^. 


106 


ELEMENTARY  GRAMMAR 


*hohi)> 

*scarpjan 

♦sdh 

*slagi 

♦slahi)) 

*talde 

*bergan 

*cumij> 

*sah 

♦felhan 

*gftfon 

*tacjan 

*wahsan 

*Jwahu 

*band 

*sehu 

*scaep 

*werpan 

*brudi 

*feh 

*gald" 

♦fallan 

*falli}) 

♦caP» 

*hwarfjan 

*caster»» 

*framilj 

*gefan 

*agi 

*geldan 

*\>aht 

*walmi 

*framide 

*bQci 

♦hohan 

*scal 

*fleohan 

*gard" 

*narid 

*aldira 

*sehan 

*bandjan 

*})ihan 

*])]hi]> 

*gaF 

*huldi 

*wrgohu 

*morgin 

*wirl)iJ7 

*starf 

*aldista 

*sculdig 

Reading 
Apollonius  of  Tyre 
186.  And  Arcestrates  se  cyning  heold  fort5  on  Apollonius 
hond  ond  hine  laedde  ham  mid  him,  na  swelce  he  cuma  waere 
ac  swelce  he  his  atJum  waere.  Da  aet  niehstan  forlet  se  cyning 
Apollonius  hand  ond  code  ana  into  Sjem  bure  ]>3bT  his  dohtor 
inne  waes,  and  J^us  cwaeS,  "Leofe  dohtor,  hwone  hafast  }ju  tJe 
gecoren  to  gemaeccan?"  Dset  maegden  })a  feoll  to  hire  faeder 
fotum  ond  cwae'5,  "Du  arfaesta  faeder,  gehler  jjlnre  dohtor  willan. 
Ic  lufie  Jjone  forlidenan  mann  t5e  waes  Jjurh  ungelimp  beswicen. 
Ac  ]>y  las  ])e  Ipe  tweonie  \>xre  spraece,  ApoUonium  ic  wille, 
minne  lareow,  ond  gif  J)u  me  him  ne  selest,  ]>n  forlaetst  tJine 
dohtor."  Se  cyning  Sa  so(51ice  ne  meahte  araefnan  his  dohtor 
tearas,  ac  arserde  hie  up  and  hire  to  cwaeS,  "Leofe  dohtor,  ne 

»8  The  c  in  this  word  was  a  back  c  in  the  earliest  stage  of  Prehistoric  OE. 
But  after  the  vowel  a  changed  to  te,  the  c  was  palatalised,  that  is  fronted,  and 
became  c.  The  c  was  at  first  a  stop  consonant  similar  to  the  k  of  kid  but  with 
the  stoppage  made  considerably  farther  forward  in  the  mouth.  Later,  how- 
ever, this  sound  changed  to  that  of  ch  in  church.  We  cannot  be  certain  as  to 
the  exact  date  at  which  this  further  change  took  place  but  it  had  occurred 
before  900. 


CONTRACT  VERBS;  REVIEW  OF  SOUND  CHANGES  107 

ondrjed  \)u  Se  seniges  jjinges.  J)u  hafast  gecoren  jjone  wer  J?e 
me  wel  llcaS."  He  code  Sa  ut  and  beseah  to  Apollonio  ond 
cwseS,  "Lareow  Apolloni,  ic  smeade  mlnre  dohtor  modes  willan; 
tSa  areahte  heo  me  mid  wope  betweox  oSre  sprsece  ])3ls  J?ing 
]7us  cweSende,  'pu  geswore  Apollonio,  gif  he  wolde  gehlersumian 
minum  willan  on  lare,  )?aet  ]?u  woldest  him  geinnian  swa 
hwaet  swa  sec  sae  him  aetbraegd.  Nu  for  Sam  )?e  he  gehlersum 
waes  ]?Inre  haese  and  minum  willan,  ic  for  aefter  him.'  " 

He  eode;  the  word  He  is  not  in  the  MS. 

At  this  point  there  is  a  great  gap  in  the  Old  English  version  of  the  story 
of  Apollonius;  after  the  gap  the  story  is  resumed  at  a  point  not  far  from  the 
end.  In  the  Latin  from  which  the  Old  English  version  was  translated  the  rest 
of  the  story  is  as  follows.  After  his  marriage  to  the  king's  daughter  ApoUonius 
receives  a  message  that  Antiochus  is  dead  and  that  the  kingdom  of  Antioch  is 
reserved  for  him.  He,  therefore,  sets  out  with  his  wife  for  Antioch;  during  the 
voyage,  however,  she  gives  birth  to  a  daughter  and  apparently  dies.  She  is 
cast  overboard  in  a  chest  and  drifts  to  Ephesus,  where  she  is  found  and  resus- 
citated. She  is  then  adopted  as  a  daughter  by  the  man  who  found  her  and 
becomes  a  priestess  of  Diana.  Apollonius  leaves  his  daughter,  named  Tharsia, 
at  Tarsus  with  a  friend  Stranguillio  and  his  wife  to  be  educated.  Stranguillio's 
wife,  however,  becomes  jealous  of  her  foster-daughter  after  a  time  and  bribes 
a  steward  to  kill  her.  But  Tharsia  is  rescued  from  the  steward  by  pirates,  is 
taken  to  Mitylene  and  sold  as  a  slave,  and  finally,  after  some  distressing  exper- 
iences, finds  a  protector  in  Athenagora,  the  prince  of  the  city.  When,  after 
fourteen  years,  Apollonius  retxims  to  visit  his  daughter,  he  is  told  by  Stranguillio 
and  his  wife  that  she  is  dead.  Broken-hearted,  he  leaves  Tarsus  and  is  driven 
by  a  storm  to  Mitylene.  There  he  finds  Tharsia  and  after  her  marriage  to 
Athenagora  sets  out  with  her  and  his  son-in-law  for  his  own  land.  Being 
warned,  however,  in  a  dream  to  go  to  Ephesus,  he  goes  there  and  is  rejoined  to 
his  wife.  After  visiting  Antioch  and  Tyre,  Apollonius  goes  to  Tarsus  and 
punishes  Stranguillio  and  his  wife  for  their  treachery.  After  that  he  lives  in 
prosperity  and  happiness  to  an  advanced  age. 


REFERENCE   GRAMMAR 


PHONOLOGY 

Indo-European,  Germanic,  West- Germanic, 
AND  Old  English  Sounds 

Prefatory  Note.  A  brief  survey  of  IE  and  Gmc  sounds  is 
prefixed  to  the  more  extensive  treatment  of  WGmc  and  OE 
sounds,  in  order  that  serious  students  may  more  easily  familiar- 
ize themselves  with  the  phonological  processes  that  preceded 
Prim  OE.  Undergraduate  classes  in  OE  may  omit  or  merely 
read  the  earlier  parts  of  the  Phonology. 

Abbreviations.  The  following  terms  frequently  used  in 
the  Reference  Grammar  are  referred  to  by  means  of  the 
abbreviations  in  the  accompanying  parentheses: 

1.  Indo-European  (IE),  the  hypothetically  reconstructed 
parent  language  of  Germanic,  Latin,  Greek,  Sanscrit,  etc. 

2.  Primitive  Germanic  (Prim  Gmc),  the  hypothetically 
reconstructed  parent  language  of  the  Germanic  languages  in 
its  earliest  period. 

3.  Germanic  (Gmc),  the  same  as  the  latter,  at  a  period  just 
before  the  separation  of  Gothic,  Norse,  and  West  Germanic. 

4.  West  Germanic  (WGmc),  the  hypothetically  recon- 
structed parent  language  of  Old  High  German,  Old  Saxon,  Old 
Dutch,  Old  Frisian,  and  Old  English. 

5.  Primitive  Old  English  (Prim  OE),  the  hypothetically 
reconstructed  English  language  before,  roughly,  the  year 
500  A.D. 

6.  Prehistoric  Old  English  (Prehist  OE),  the  hypothetically 
reconstructed  Old  English  language  from  about  500  to  about 
700,  the  latter  being  the  date  of  the  earliest  MSS  of  OE. 

Ill 


112 


REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 


Other  abbreviations  are: 

Sansc,  Sanscrit 

Lat,  Latin 

Gr,  Greek 

Goth,  Gothic 

NGmc,  North  Germanic 

ON,  Old  Norse 

OHG,  Old  High  German 

Mod  HG,  Modern  High  German 


OS,  Old  Saxon 
OFris,  Old  Frisian 
OE,  Old  English  ^ 
Mid  E,   Middle  English 
Mod  E,  Modern  English 
WS,  West  Saxon 
EWS,  Early  West  Saxon 
LWS,  Late  West  Saxon 


INDO-EUROPEAN  VOWELS,  DIPHTHONGS, 
AND  CONSONANTS  IN  GERMANIC 

201.  Indo-European  Vowels  and  Diphthongs. 

Indo-European  had  the  following  vowels  and  diphthongs: 
Short  Vowels:  a,  e,  i,  o,  u,  9} 
Long  vowels:  a,  e,  i,  o,  u. 
Diphthongs:  ai,  ei,  oi,  au,  eu,  ou. 
Long  Diphthong:  ei.* 

202.  IE  Short  Vowels  in  Prim  Gmc. 

(IE)  (Prim  Gmc) 

a  :  Lat  ager,  Goth  akrs,  OE  aecer,  field. 
e  :  Lat  fero,  OS,  OHG,  OE  beran,  bear. 
i  :  Lat  piscis,  Goth  fisks,  OE  fisc,  fish. 
a  :  Lat  octo,  Goth   ahtau,    OS,    OHG   ahto, 

eight. 
u  :  Gr  thiira,  OS  duri,  OE  duru,  door. 
a  :  IE   *patgr,    Goth   fadar,    OS   fader,   OE 

feeder,  father. 


1. 

2. 
3. 
4. 

a  remained 

e 

i 

0  became 

5. 
6. 

u  remained 
9  became 

1  A  sound  like  a  in  Cuba.    This  sound  is  called  "schwa." 
•  There  were  other  long  diphthongs  in  IE,  but  this  is  the  only  one  of  impor- 
tance in  Gmc. 


INDO-EUROPEAN  SOUNDS  IN  GERMANIC  113 

203.  IE  Long  Vowels  in  Prim  Gmc. 

(IE)  (Prim  Gmc) 

1.  a  became       6  :  Lat  mater,  OS  modar,  OE  modor,  mother. 

2.  e         "  a  :  Lat  edi,  Goth  fr-et,  ON  at,  OS  at,  OHG 

az,  he  ate} 

3.  i  remained     i  :  Lat  su-inus  (adj.),  belonging  to  a  pig;  Goth 

sweins^;  OS,  OHG,  OE  swin,  swine,  pig. 

4.  0  remained    5  :  Gr  (Doric),  p68,  Goth  fotu,  OE  lot,  foot. 

5.  u        "  u  :  Lat  sus:  OHG,  OE  su,  sow,  pig. 

204.  IE  Diphthongs  in  Prim  Gmc. 

(IE)  (Prim  Gmc) 

1.  ai  remained   ai  :  Lat  aes,  Goth  aiz,  brass. 

2.  ei  became      i  :   Gr    steich5,    /   go;    Goth   steigan,     OS, 

OHG,  OE  stigan,  go. 

3.  oi  became        ai,     thus   falling   together   with   original   ai; 

Gr  oTde;  Goth  wait,  knows. 

4.  au  remained   au  :  Lat  auris,  Goth  auso,  ear. 
eu  :  Gr  geuo,  /  give  a  taste  of;  Goth  kiusan,^ 

choose. 
au,  thus  falling  together  with  original  au:  IE 

*r6udhos;  Goth  rau}>s,  red. 
e®  :  IE  *k6ita,  OS,  OE  het,  /  commanded. 

IE  Consonants  in  Gmc 

205.  Grimm's  Law. 

IE  p,  t,  k ;  bh,  dh,  gh ;  b,  d,  g  changed    to    certain    corres- 
ponding Gmc  consonants. 

*  Gmc  &,  a  long  low  front  vowel,  became  e  in  Goth,  but  became  a  in  NGmc 
and  WGmc. 

*  In  Goth  ei  spells  i. 

'  Gmc  eu  became  Goth  iu. 

*  Gmc  e  (IE  ei)  is  distinguished  in  NGmc  and  WGmc  from  Gmc  &  (IE  e), 
but  in  Goth  both  e  and  x  are  spelled  alike  (e). 


5. 

eu 

6. 

ou  became 

7. 

ei 

114  REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 

1.  p  became  f:  Lat  piscis,  OE  Hsc^fish;  Lat  pecus,  OE  feoh, 
cattle,  money. 

2.  t  became  t^:  Lat  tu,  OE  l)u,  thou;  Lat  tres,  OE  l>reo, 
three. 

3.  k  became  h":  Lat  cor  (Gen.  cordis),  OE  heorte,  heart; 
Lat  centum,  OE  hund,  hundred. 

4.  bh  became  b*:  Sansc  nabhas,  Gr  nephele,  cloud,  OE 
nlfol,  dark. 

5.  dh  became  tJ^"  (>0E  d):  Sansc  rudhir^s,  Goth  raudai 
(Dat.  Sing.),  ON  rautJr,  OE  read,  red. 

6.  gh  became  x":  IE  *gh6stis,  Lat  hostis,  Goth  gasts, 
OE  ^iest,  stranger,  guest. 

7.  b  became  p:  Lithuanian  dubus,  OE  deop,  deep;  Old 
Bulgarian  slabu,  slack,  OE  sl^pan,  sleep. 

8.  d  became  t :  Lat  decern,  OE  lien,  ten. 

9.  g  became  k :  Lat  genu,  OE  cneo,  knee;  Lat  ager,  OE 
aecer,  field. 

206.  The  Law  Operated  in  Three  Stages : 

1.  IE  voiceless  stops  (p,  t,  k)  became  the  corresponding 
voiceless  spirants  (f,  J>,  h). 

'  I>  is  used  here  (as  generally  in  works  on  phonetics)  to  signify  the  voice- 
less spirant,  as  in  ModE  thin. 

•  Originally  in  Gmc  this  was  a  voiceless  spirant,  sounded  like  ModHG  ch, 
as  in  ick,  Nacht. 

•  A  bilabial  voiced  spirant  somewhat  like  ModE  v,  which,  however,  is  a 
labio-dental  voiced  spirant.     (In  Goth  pronoimced  b,  but  sp)elled  b.) 

"  A  linguo-dental  voiced  spirant  like  ModE  th  in  then.  (In  Goth  pro- 
nounced Z,  but  spelled  d.) 

"  A  voiced  spirant  like  g  in  North  ModHG  sagen,  say.  (In  Goth  pro- 
nounced s>  but  spelled  g.) 


INDO-EUROPEAN  SOUNDS  IN  GERMANIC  115 

2.  IE  voiced  stops  (b,  d,  g)  became  the  corresponding 
voiceless  stops  (p,  t,  k). 

3.  IE  voiced  aspirated  stops  (bh,  dh,  gh)"  becaine  the 
corresponding  voiced  spirants  (b,  tJ,  %). 

Grimm's  Law,  as  originally  stated,  included  the  further  change  of  the 
Gmc  consonants  into  the  Old  High  German  consonants.  As  now  understood, 
this  OHG  consonant  shift  was  an  independent  phenomenon. 

Not  included  in  Grimm's  Law  are  a  number  of  late  developments  of  Gmc 
consonants  in  the  separate  Gmc  languages. 

207.  Verner's  Law. 

One  group  of  apparent  exceptions  to  Grimm's  Law  deserves 
special  treatment.  IE  p,  t,  k,  s,  in  the  middle  and  at  the  end 
of  words  did  not  always  develop  into  what  we  should  expect, 
namely  Prim  Gmc  f,  |),  h,  s.  Instead,  we  find  Prim  Gmc 
b,  tJ,  X,  z,  which  developed  into  OE  voiced  f  (i.e.,  v),  d,  g,^'  r. 
The  theory  which  accounts  for  these  apparent  irregularities  is 
known  as  Verner's  Law.  The  irregularities  themselves  are  due 
to  peculiarities  of  the  IE  and  Prim  Gmc  accent. 

208.  Accent  in  Indo-European  and  In  Germanic. 

The  Gmc  accent  was  a  fixed  accent:  that  is,  no  matter  what 
the  inflectional  form  of  the  word,  the  primary  accent  was  on 
the  root  syllable  throughout.  In  IE,  on  the  contrary,  some 
words  had  the  accent  on  the  root  syllable  (e.g.,  Gr  logos, 
word),  some  on  the  suffix  or  termination,  (Gr  hod6s,  road), 
and  some  had  a  variable  accent,  i.e.,  in  some  inflected  forms  it 
was  on  the  root  syllable,  in  some  it  was.on  the  suffix  or  termina- 
tion (Gr  Nom.  Sing,  nfix,  night,  Gen.  Sing.  nukt6s).  This 
"shifting"  or  "variable"  accent  was  a  characteristic  also  of  the 
most  primitive  Gmc  until  a  period  subsequent  to  the  change  of 

^  That  is,  voiced  stops  followed  by  h. 

"  OE  back  or  velar  g  was  identical  in  pronimciation  with  Gmc  g. 


116  REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 

IE  p,  t,  k,  to  f,  l>,  h.     In  later  Gmc,  however,  the  accent  shifted 
to  the  root  syllable,  where  it  remained  in  OE. 

209.  (a)    Prim  Gmc  initial  f,  J),  h,  s  remained  f,  |>,  h,  s. 
(b)  Prim  Gmc  f,  |>,  h,  s  immediately  preceded  by  the  accent 

remained  f,  b,  h,  s. 

Thus  in  Prim  Gmc  *fiska-,  *J)inna-,  *h6rna-,  *sat,  and  in 
*hlefo,  *werl)o,  *fehu,  *was,  f,  b,  h,  8  remained  unchanged. 

210.  (c)  Everywhere  else,  however,  f  became  b ;  \>  became  H ; 
h  became  j;  s  became  z;  (OE  f,  d,  g,  r).  Thus,  in  the  3d  plural 
preterit  indicative  of  strong  verbs: 

(Prim  Gmc)  (Later  Prim  Gmc;  (Gmc)  (OE) 

*wur|>un>  *wur'3un>  *wur'5un  wurdon 

*fluhun>  *flusun>  ♦flujun  flugon 

*w«sun>  *wiezun>  *waezun  wieron 

Prim  Gmc  Vowel  Changes 

211.  Prim  Gmc  e  became  Gmc  i  under  the  following  cir- 
cumstances: 

1.  e+ nasal 4"  consonant  became  i:  Lat  ventus,  Goth 
winds,  OS,  OE  wind,  wind. 

2.  e  followed  by  i,  i,  or  j  in  next  syllable,  became  i: 
Lat  medius,  Goth  midjis,  ON  mi'Sr,  OS  middi,  OE  midd, 
middle. 

212.  Prim  Gmc  i  followed  by  a,  o,  or  e  in  the  next  syllable, 
became  Gmc  e : 

Lat  vir  (IE  *wiros),  Goth  wair,i*  OS,  OHG,  OE  wer,"  man. 

213.  Prim  Gmc  u  became  Gmc  o  when  followed  by  a,  e,  or  6 
in  the  next  syllable,  unless  prevented  by  an  intervening  nasal 

"  Goth  ai  spells  e.  In  Goth  every  e  became  i  except  when  followed  by 
t,  h,  or  bw. 

"  The  Prim  Gmc  (orm  *wiraz  became  *weraz,  from  which  came  wer. 


GERMANIC  SOUNDS  117 

combination,  or  by  an  intervening  i,  i,  or  j.  Prim  Gmc  *gul'3an 
became  OS,  OHG,  OE  gold,  gold  (cf.  OE  gylden,  golden, <Fnm 
Gmc  *gul'5inaz) ;  Prim  Gmc  *hulpanaz  became  OS  holpan,  OHG 
holfan,  OE  holpen,  past  participle  of  helpan,  help. 

But  Prim  Gmc  *bundanaz  became  OE  bunden,  bound,  and 
Prim  Gmc  *fulljanan  became  Gmc  ^fulljan,  which  became  OE 
fyllan,  fill. 

214.  Prim  Gmc  eu  followed  in  the  next  syllable  by  a,  e,  or 
6  became  eo:^^  OHG  deota,  folk;  beotan,  command;  OS  theoda, 
thioda;  beodan,  biodan. 

Prim  Gmc  eu  followed  in  the  next  syllable  by  i,  i,  j,  or  n, 
became  iu^®:  OHG  diutisk,  national;  biutu,  1st  sg.  pres,  biutis, 
2d  sg.  pres.  command;  OS  biudu,  biudis,  command. 

215.  Prim  Gmc  Vowel + Nasal +h. 

In  a  prehistoric  period  of  Gmc,  but  after  those  changes  had 
occurred  which  characterize  Gmc,  a  nasal  preceded  by  a  vowel 
and  followed  by  h  disappeared,  nasalizing  and  lengthening  the 
preceding  vowel. 

Prim  Gmc  *fanhanan  became  Goth  fahan,  (OE  fon),  seize. 

Prim  Gmc  *l)anht«  became  Goth  ))ahta,  (OE  ]>ohte),  thought. 

Prim  Gmc  *l>enhanan  became  Goth  ))eihan,  OS  thihan, 
(OE  })eon),  thrive. 

Prim  Gmc  *l>unhtje  became  Goth  }>uhta,  (OE  J>uhte), 
seemed. 


"  As  seen  in  the  illustrations,  the  two  sounds  are  represented  as  follows 
in  the  various  Gmc  languages: 


Gmc  eo 

Gmc  ia 

Gothiu 

Gothiu 

OHGeo 

OHGiu 

OS  eo,  io 

OSiu 

OE  eo  (io) 

OE  io  (eo)  when  followed  by  -u 

OE  ie  when  followed  by  i,  i,  or  j 

118  REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 

216.  Prim  Gmc  b,  tJ,  %. 

1.  Prim  Gmc  b,  initial  or  preceded  by  m,  became  b:  Goth 
bairan,  OHG,  OS,  OE  beran,  bear;  Goth,  OHG,  OS,  OE  lamb, 
lamb. 

2.  Prim  Gmc  tJ,  initial  or  preceded  by  n,  became  d:  Goth 
dauhtar,  OE  dohtor,  daughter. 

3.  Prim  Gmc  x,  preceded  by  u,  became  the  stop  g:  Goth, 
OE  singan,  sing. 

Germanic  Vowels  and  Dipthongs  in 
West  Germanic 

217.  Gmc  had  the  following  vowels  and  diphthongs: 

Short  vowels:  a,  e,  i,  o,  u. 
Long  vowels:  a,  e,^'^  se,^^  i,  o,  u. 
Diphthongs:  ai,  an,  eo,  in. 

218.  Gmc  Long  Vowels  in  WGmc. 

Of  the  long  vowels,  a,  e,  i,  o,  u  remained  unchanged  in 
WGmc. 

Gmc  sb  became  WGmc  a:  Goth  fr-et,  OS  at,   OHG  az, 

(OE  jet),  ate. 

219.  Gmc  Diphthongs  in  WGmc. 

All  Gmc  diphthongs,  ai,  au,  eo,  iu  remained  unchanged  in 
WGmc,  though  later  they  went  thru  various  changes  in  the 
separate  WGmc  languages. 

220.  Gmc  Consonants  in  WGmc. 

The  Gmc  consonants  remained  unchanged  in  WGmc,  except 
that  Gmc  z  became  WGmc  r:  Gmc  *wiezun,  OS,  OHG  warun, 
OE  wjeron,  were;  and  Gmc  tJ  became  WGmc  d:  Goth  fadar,  OS 
fadar,  OE  faeder. 

"  e  from  IE  ei.    See  204,  7. 
"tbiromJEe.    See 203, 2. 


WEST  GERMANIC  SOUNDS  119 

221.  WGmc  Gemmation  before  j. 

In  the  WGmc  period  any  single  consonant  (except  r)  pre- 
ceded by  a  short  vowel  was  geminated  by  a  following  j. 

(Gmc)  (WGmc)        (Prehist  OE)  (OE) 

*8atjan>  *8attjan>       *8aBttjan>       *settian>   settan" 

*le2Jaii>  *lassjan>       *Iaeggjan>      *le^gian>  lecgan 

*habjan">         *habbjan>     *haebbjan>     *hebbiaii  >  hebban 
*hazjaii>  *harjan>        *haerjan>  herian^* 

WGmc  SOUNDS 

222.  WGmc  had  the  following  vowels  and  diphthongs: 

Short  vowels:  a,  e,  i,  o,  u. 
Long  vowels:  a,  e,  i,  6,  ii. 
Diphthongs:  ai,  au,  eo,  iu. 

223.  WGmc  had  the  following  consonants : 

j,  w,  semi-vowels  f,  \>,  h,  s,  voiceless  spirants 

r,  1,  liquids  b,  d,  g,  voiced  stops 

m,  n,  0,^  nasals  b,  j,  voiced  spirants 
p,  t,  k,  voiceless  stops 

WGmc  VOWELS  AND  DIPHTHONGS  IN  OE 

224.     WGmc    a. 

WGmc  a  became  OE  x"^  when  followed  by  h;  in  all  closed 
syllables;  in  open  syllables  unless  followed  by  a,  a,  or  o;  it  did 


"  Cf.  Goth  satjan,  OS  settian,  OHG  sezzan. 

"  In  '^habjan,  the  b  was  a  voiced  bilabial  spirant,  somewhat  like  ModE  ▼ 
(which,  however,  is  a  labio-dental).  The  result  of  geminating  this  bilabial 
voiced  spirant  was  -bb-,  as  in  hebban. 

"  -i-  of  herian  represents  the  sound  j,  i.e.,  ModE  y, 

**  g  represents  the  ng  in  sing. 

» In  the  Mercian  and  Kentish  dialects,  under  the  same  conditions,  WGmc 
a  became  e:  dei,  hefde.    A  similar  change  occurred  in  OFris:  dei,  heved. 


120  REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 

not  change  when  followed  by  a  nasal,  or  by  w.^*    daeg,  day; 
haefde,  had;  sneer j  field;  slean  (<*sleahan<*slaehan<*slahan). 

225.  WGmc  a+Nasal. 

WGmc  a  followed  by  a  nasal  did  not  become  ae,  but  either 
remained  a  or  was  changed  to  o.^*  In  the  earliest  OE  MSS 
this  sound  is  always  spelled  a;  in  EWS  MSS  (850-900)  o  is 
decidedly  more  frequent  than  a;  in  the  LWS  MSS  a  is  almost 
universal:  mann,  monn,  man;  cann,  conn,  can. 

226.  WGmc  e+m. 

WGmc  e  followed  by  m  became  OE  i:^'  OHG  neman,  OE 
niman,  take. 

227.  WGmc  0. 

WGmc  o  in  some  words  appears  as  OE  u,^^  especially  be- 
tween a  labial  consonant  and  1 :  full,  full;  wulle,  wool;  wulf, 
wolf;  fugol,  bird. 

For  the  most  part,  however,  WGmc  o  appears  as  OE  o: 
folgian,  follow;  bolt,  bolt;  folc,  folk. 

228.  WGmc  0+ Nasal. 

WGmc  o  followed  by  a  nasal  became  OE  u  i^^  OHG  donar, 
OE  l>unor,  thunder;  OHG  honag,  OE  hunl^,  honey. 

**  WGmc  a  remained  a  in  dagas,  dagum;  sadol,  saddle;  hand,  hand;  aweU 
a^d.  Sometimes  WGmc  a  plus  double  consonant  plus  a,  o,  u  remained  a: 
lappa,  skirt;  mattuc,  mattock. 

"  This  change  occurred  also  in  OFris:  mon. 

"This  change  occurred  also  in  OS:  niman.     In  OFris  it  did  not  occur. 

"  This  change  occurred  also  in  OFris  and  OS:  OFris,  OS  full,  full. 

**  This  change  occurred  also  in  OFris  and  OS:  OHG  coman,  OFris  kiuna, 
OS  kaman,  OE  cuman,  come.- 


OLD  ENGLISH  SOUNDS  121 

229.  WGmc  a. 

WGmc  a  became  OE  ae,  but  remained  a  when  followed  by 
w,  p,  g,  or  k+back  vowel:"  OS  latan,  OHG  lazzan,  OE  lietan, 

permit. 

230.  WGmc  a + Nasal. 

WGmc  a  followed  by  a  nasal  became  OE  o  t^"  OHG  manod, 
OE  mona[>,  month;  OHG  namun,  OE  nomon,  they  took;  OHG 
quamun,  OE  comon,  they  came. 

Gmc  a,  as  in  Goth  );ahta  (<Gmc  *|7anht£e),  OS  thahta, 
OHG  dahte,  he  thought  (cf .  215),  appears  as  OE  6 :  l^ohte.  In 
such  words  WGmc  a  retained  a  nasal  quality  long  enough  in 
the  OE  period  to  become  OE  6,  and  not  «. 

231.  WGmc  Short  Vowel+Nas&l+ Voiceless  Spirant. 

Prim  Gmc  short  vowel+nasal+h  had  become  Gmc  long 
vowel+h.     (See    215.) 

WGmc  short  vowel + nasal +s,  f,  or  I>  became  OE  long 
vowel+s,  f,  or  |>.^  Goth  uns,  OE  us,  us;  Goth  fimf,  OE  fif, 
five;  Goth  mun]7S,  OE  mul>,  mouth. 

WGmc  a+nasal+s,  f,  or  \>  became  OE  o+s,  f,  or  J>:  OHG 
gans,  OE  gos,  goose;  OHG  samfto,  OE  softe,  softly;  Goth  anl)ar, 
OE  ober,  other.  In  such  words  Prehist  OE  a  retained  a  nasal 
quality  long  enough  in  the  OE  period  to  become  o,  and  not  «. 
(Cf.  230.) 

232.  WGmc  ai. 

WGmc  ai  became  OE  a:  Goth  stains,  OHG  stein,  OE  stan, 
stone.     WGmc  ai  must  have  become  OE  a  after   WGmc  a 

*'  WGmc  a  remained  a  in  sawon,  they  saw;  slapan,  (mostly  sl^pan  by  anal- 
ogy with  lietan,  sliepest,  etc.),  sleep;  magas,  kinsmen;  hraca,  spittle.  For  OE 
l>ohte  from  WGmc  *J)aht8e  (<Gmc  *l>anht£e),  see  230. 

'"  This  change  occurs  also  in  OFris:  ndmen,  they  took. 

"  This  change  occurs  also  in  OFris  and  to  a  great  extent  in  OS :  Goth  anl^ar, 
OFris,  OS,  OE  6l>er,  other. 


122  REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 

became  OE  ae;  otherwise  the  two  sounds  in  OE  would  have 
fallen  together  into  se. 

233.  WGmc  au. 

WGmc  au  became  OE  ea:  Goth  hlaupan,  OHG  hlouffan, 
OE  hleapan,  run. 

234.  WGmc  eo,  iu. 

WGmc  eo  (see  214,  219)  remained  OE  eo:  OS  liof,  OE  leof, 
dear;  OHG  deota,  OE  ))eod,  people. 

WGmc  iu  became  OE  io:^  OS  liudi,  OE  liode,  people. 

In  EWS  these  two  sounds,  eo  and  io,  were  frequently  levelled 
under  eo,  altho  io  also  appears  frequently  for  either.  In 
LWS,  eo  is  practically  universal  for  both  sounds. 

WGmc  Consonants  in  OE 

235.  WGmc  r,  1,  m,  n,  fl  (liquids  and  nasals);  p,  t,  k  (voice- 
less stops);  b,  d  (voiced  stops);  %  (voiced  spirant),  remained 
unchanged  in  Prim  OE;  b  (voiced  spirant,  see  note  9  above) 
became  voiced  f,  that  is  ModE  v. 

236.  WGmc  n  or  m,  when  preceded  by  a  vowel  and  fol- 
lowed by  f,  1),  or  s,  disappeared  in  OFris,  OE,  and  partly  in  OS; 
the  vowel  preceding  f,  s,  or  }p  was  lengthened.     Cf.  231. 

237.  Final  OE  b  became  voiceless  f;  wif,  woman;  final  S 
was  frequently  unvoiced,  becoming  h:  stah,  went  (cf.  stigan, 
stigon). 

238.  WGmc  j. 


or 


e,0  0»  TT  VIIIIV   J. 

Initial  j-  remained  unchanged,  but  was  spelled  g,  ge,  gi, 
i:  OHG  jar,  OE  ^ear,  year;  OS,  OHG  jung,  OE  geong, 
ng,  iung,  young. 


giong,  iung,  young 


^  When  iu  was  followed  by  i,  i,  or  j,  it  usually  umlauted  to  ie:  Prehist  OE 
*biadil>  became  OE  biett,  he  commands. 


OLD  ENGLISH  SOUNDS  123 

Medial  -j-  remained  between  vowels,  but  was  spelled  g, 
ge:  ciegan,  ciegean,  call. 

Medial  -j-  remained  after  a  short  syllable  ending  in  -r, 
but  was  spelled,  i,  g,  ig,  ge,  or  ige:  herian,  hergan,  herigan, 
hergean,  herigean,  praise. 

Medial  -j-  after  a  long  syllable  ending  in  a  consonant   i  / 
became  i,  and  was  lost  before  the  year  700:  OS  settian,  OE  / 
settan,  set. 

Final  -j  remained  after  long  vowels  or  diphthongs,  but  was 
spelled  g:  hieg,  hedge. 

239.  WGmc  w. 

Initial  and  medial  w-,  -w-  remained:  wenaii)  expect; 
blowan,  bloom;  beadwe,  of  a  battle. 

Final  -w  after  a  vowel  coalesced  into  a  diphthong:  WGmc 
*trew>OE  tree,  tree. 

Simplification  of  Double  Consonants 

240.  (a)  Final  double  consonants  were  very  frequently 
written  single:  mann,  man,  man;  feorr,  feor,  far. 

(b)  Medially,  a  double  consonant  adjacent  to  another  con- 
sonant was  simplified:  Prehist  OE  *wendide>*wendde> 
wende,  turned;  *f ulllde  >  *fyllde  >  f ylde,  ^//ei. 

Prehistoric  OE  Changes 

241.  A  number  of  important  sound  changes,  both  vowel 
and  consonant,  occurred  within  the  OE  period,  but  earlier 
than  the  date  of  our  oldest  documents. 

242.  OE  palatalization  of  s  (i)^  k>  gg*  kk. 

Initial  X  (g)  and  k  (c)  were  palatalized  (or  fronted)  in  Pre- 
historic OE  by  a  following  palatal  vowel  or  diphthong.  The 
palatalization  was  caused  by: 

i,  i,  e,_e,  a,^  or  sb. 
io,  eo,  ea. 

"  The  short  vowels  i,  e,  and  ae  at  a  later  period  "broke"  to  io,  eo,  and  ea, 
if  followed  by  certain  consonants,    Cf .  247. 


124  REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 

Palatalized  S  (i)  fell  together  in  sound  with  j-  (in  gear 
from  WGmc  *jar). 

Palatalized  k  (c)  remained  a  front  stop  consonant  in  some 
dialects,  but  in  WS  underwent  the  further  change  to  c  (Mod  E 
ch  in  church). 

Illustrations: 

^iellan,  ieaf,  ^eafon,  ieorn,  §eard,  ^eotan. 

cirice,  cinn,  cidan,  ceaster,  ceorl,  ciest,  ceosan. 

243.  Prehist  OE  X,  gg,  k,  kk,  gk,  and  gg  were  palatalized  in 
WS  by  a  following  i,  i,  or  j : 

X  became  g:  WGmc  *burxi  (Dat.  Sing.)  became  OE  byr| 
(often  spelled  byrig)  city;  WGmc  *bauxjan  became  OE 
ble^an,  bend. 

k  became  c  (ModE  ch):  WGmc  *bisokjaii  became  OE 
besecan,  beseech;  WGmc  boci  (Dat.  Sing.)  became  OE  bee, 
book. 

kk  became  cc  (ModE  eh) :  WGmc  *wikkjoii  became  OE 
wicce,  witch. 

11  became  eg  (ModE  dg  as  in  bridge);  WGmc  *hnisxjaz 
became  OE  hrycg,  ridge. 

uk  became  nc  (ModE  neh);  WGmc  *bankj5  became  OE 
bene,  bench. 

Ijg  became  ng  (ModE  nge  as  in  singe):  WGmc  *sangjan 
became  OE  sengan,  singe. 

244.  Prehist  OE  final  k  (e)  was  palatalized  by  a  preceding 
i  or  i:  ic,  /;  die,  ditch. 

245.  Prehist  OE  1  (g)  at  the  end  of  a  word  or  syllable  was 
palatalized  by  a  preceding  ae,  je,  e,  e,  i,  or  i:  daeg,  day,  we^, 
way,  sti^  (Imper.  Sing.),  go;  hali^,  holy. 


BREAKING  125 

246.  Prehist  OE  s  (g)  was  palatalized  between  palatal 
vowels:  daeges;  weges. 

247.  WGmc  sk. 

WGmc  sk  was  spelled  sc  in  OE,  but  in  WS  developed  into 
the  sound  of  ModE  sh  as  in  shoe;  OE  scoh,  shoe;  scinan,  shine; 
scunian,  shun;  scrud,  garment. 

In  both  EWS  and  LWS  the  palatal  character  of  this  sound 
was  frequently  indicated  in  the  spelling  by  the  insertion  of  an  e 
when  the  following  vowel  was  velar:  sceolon,  shall;  sceop, 
created;  sceama,  shame;  fisceas,  fish.  It  is  possible,  however, 
that  this  e  represents  an  intermediate  vowel  or  glide  that 
developed  between  the  palatal  sc  and  the  back  vowel  that 
followed. 

248.  Breaking. 

OE  ae,  e,  i  (front  vowels)  developed  into  diphthongs,  or 
"broke,"  in  a  prehistoric  period  when  followed  by  1+ consonant, 
r+consonant,  or  h.     (See  Chapter  IX.) 

The  diphthongs  at  first  consisted  of  ae,  e,  or  i+the  glide 
sound  u:  seu,  eu,  iu. 

Later  aeu  became  ea,  eu  became  eo,'^  iu  became  io.^ 

These  diphthongs  were  short,  and  are  to  be  distinguished 
from  the  OE  long  diphthongs  ea,  eo,  io,  which  developed  from 
the  WGmc  diphthongs  au,  eo,  iu. 

e,  i  broke  before  l+consonant_only  when  the  combination 
was  Ih;  e  also  broke  between  s  and  Ic  or  If,  e.g.,  aseolcan, 
become  sluggish;  seoH,  self. 

X  broke  before  1+ consonant  only  in  Kent  and  eastern 
Wessex.     In  those  dialects  in  which  breaking  did  not  occur, 

"  In  EWS  MSS  eo  and  io  are  frequently  levelled  to  eo.     In  LWS  eo  is 

practically  universal. 


126  REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 

the  ae  became  a  before  1+ consonant.     Both  ea  and  a  occur 
in  EWS:  feallan,  fallan, /a//.    LWS  has  only  ea. 
Illustrations: 

1.  ae  became  ea:  *faellaii > feallan, /aW;  *aerm>earm,  arm; 
*isdht>ieaLhtj  fought;  *slaehan>*sleahan>slean,  strike. 

2.  e  became  eo:  *selh>seolh,  seal;  *werl>>weorJ>,  worth; 
*felitan>feohtan,  ^g/f/;  *feh>feoh,  cattle;  *fehes  (Gen.  Sing.) 
>*feohes>feos. 

3.  i  became  io:  *wirj)i|>'''  (3d  Sing.  Pres.)>*wiorl>il'> 
*wierj)il>>wier|>,  becomes;  *sihi|>>*8lohi|)>siehJ),  sees. 

249.  The  OE  long  front  vowels  se,  i  were  broken  to  ea,  io 
(eo),  before  h : 

1.  sb  became  ea:  *n«h>neah,  near. 

2.  i  became  io,  eo :  *liht>lioht,  leoht,  light  (adj.) ;  *betwih> 
betweoh,  between;  *tihan>*tiohan>tion,  teon,  blame. 

250.  Diphthongisation  by  Initial  Palatals. 

The  initial  palatals  ^,  c,  sc  (see  242)  caused  a  following  e 
to  diphthongise  to  ie,  ae  to  ea,  sb  to  ea.     (See  Chapter  X.) 
Illustrations: 

1.  e  became  ie  (LWS  i  or  y) :  *^efan>giefan,  gm;*sceran> 
scieran,  shear. 

2.  ae  became  ea:  *^aef>^eaf,  gave;  *cae8ter>ceaster,  city; 
*8caBl>sceal,  shall. 

3.  se  became  ea:  *gJefon>geafon,  gave;  *^xr> ^eaty  year; 
*c«ce>ceace,  cheek;  *scseron>scearon,  sheared. 

251.  i-,  i-,  j-Umlaut. 

Every  vowel  and  diphthong  in  Prehist  OE  (except  ae,  e,  i, 
andj)  was  raised  or  fronted  if  an  i,  i,  or  j  occurred  in  the  f ollow- 

"  i  of  *wirlri|»  came  from  e  (Prim  Gmc  *werHI') ;  the  change  of  Prim  Gmc 
0  to  i  was  Gmc;  see  211,  2;  io  became  ie  as  the  result  of  OE  umlaut;  see  251. 


I-UMLAUT  127 

ing  syllable.  This  change  is  commonly  called  "i-umlaut," 
sometimes  "mutation."  It  was  caused  by  the  raising  and 
fronting  influence  of  the  high  front  sound  i,  i,  or  j ;  that  is,  a 
low  or  a  back  vowel  was  approximated  to  the  position  of  a 
following  high  front  i,  i,  or  j. 

Illustrations : 

ae  became  e:  *saBttjan>settan,  set;  *aB^i>e^e, /ear. 

ae+cons.  group  usually  remained  ae;  *faestjaii>faestan, 
make  fast. 

a  became  e:  *manni>maBnn>menn,  men;  *8andjan> 
sendan,  send. 

a  became  sb:  *hali>h£el,  health;  *haljaii>h£elan,  heal. 

o  became  oe>e:  ^^  *dohtri>*doehtri>dehter  (Dat.  Sing.), 
daughter. 

o  became  ce>e:^^  d6mian>doeman>demaii,  y«(fge. 

u  became  y:"  *£ulljan>fyllan,  ^//. 

u  became  y:"  *tunjan>tynan,  enclose. 

io  became  ie  (LWS  i  or  y)  :'^  *wiorpi|>>wierpJ>,  becomes. 

10  became  ie  (LWS  i  or  y)  :^^    *gel>iodjaii>  ^eHedan,  unite. 

ea  became  ie:  *feallil>>fiell), /a/?5. 

ea  became  ie:  *hearjan>hieran,  hear. 

"  The  back  rounded  vowels  o,  o  were  fronted  to  oe,  ee  (like  ModHG  o,  5) 
as  shown  by  the  spellmg  oe  in  the  earliest  documents,  as  well  as  in  the  later  docu- 
ments of  some  dialects.  By  900  the  sounds  had  been  completely  imroimded 
in  WS  to  e,  e. 

'■^  The  back  rounded  vowels  u,  ii  were  fronted  and  became  lip-rounded 
palatal  vowels  y,  y  (like  ModHG  ii,  u).  In  some  dialects  y,  y  were  unrounded 
in  the  OE  period  to  i,  i.  In  the  Southern  dialect  y,  y  remained  roimded  even 
in  the  MidE  period. 

*8  In  the  non-WS  dialects,  and  even  to  some  extent  in  WS,  io  followed  by 
r-f  consonant  was  not  umlauted  by  a  following  i,  i,  or  j :  Angl.,  Kent.,  WS.  iorre, 
angry;  hiorde,  shepherd;  beside  usual  WS  ierre,  hierde. 

*'  In  the  non-WS  dialects,  and  even  to  some  extent  in  WS,  io  was  not 
umlauted  by  a  following  i,  i, or  j:  stioran,  steer;  liode,  people  (i-stem). 


128  REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 

252.    U-,  0-,  a- Umlaut. 

About  700,  the  OE  vowels  ae,  e,  and  i  were,  under  some  cir- 
cumstances (and  in  some  districts),  diphthongised  to  ea,  eo, 
and  io  by  u*  o,  or  a  in  the  following  syllable.*' 

This  umlaut  is  similar  to  Breaking,  in  that  the  same  vowels 
were  affected,  they  developed  into  the  same  diphthongs,  and 
the  influence  causing  the  development  of  the  "glide"  was  a 
following  back  sound — in  this  case  a  vowel. 

U-,  0-,  a-Umlaut  is  only  partly  present  in  pure  WS.  The 
umlaut  of  ae  appears  only  in  Mercian  and  in  Kentish  (except 
in  WS  ealu. 

The  influence  of  the  u,  o,  or  a  operated  freely  thru  an  inter- 
vening liquid  or  labial  (1,  r,  f,  p);  was  somewhat  restricted  by 
an  intervening  dental  (t,  d,  J>,  s)  or  nasal;  and  was  much 
restricted  by  an  intervening  velar  (c,  g).  The  umlaut  was 
usually  prevented  by  an  intervening  double  consonant  or  by 
two  consonants:  swimman,  swim;  drincan,  drink. 

WS  illustrations: 

1.  «  became  ea  *«elu>ealu,  a/e.*^ 

2.  e  became  eo  (io):  *herot > heorot,  hart;  *hefon>heofon, 

heaven. 

3.  i  became  io  (eo):   *silufr > siolf or,  silver;  '''sifun>siofun, 

seven. 

*•  Inasmuch  as  the  vowel  te  does  not  occur  in  WS  when  the  vowel  of  the 
following  syllable  is  u,  o,  or  a,  this  umlaut  could  not  take  place  in  the  WS  dia- 
lect. At  the  time  when  the  u-,  o-,  a-  umlaut  was  operating,  however,  the  Mer- 
cian dialect  (and  probably  the  Kentish  dialect)  had  ae  before  back  as  well  as 
front  vowels;  we  therefore  have  Mercian  heafoc,  featu,  etc.,  as  compared  with 
WS  hafoc,  fatu,  etc.  In  ealo,  the  single  WS  example  of  this  umlaut  of  «,  the 
vowel  «e  was  probably  introduced  into  the  nominative  form  alo  from  the  dative 
singular  *ale]fe,  in  which  «e  was  phonetically  regular. 

*^  See  preceding  note. 


UNACCENTED  VOWELS  129 

Unaccented  Vowels 

253.  A  peculiarity  of  the  Gmc  languages,  already  noted 
in  the  discussion  of  Verner's  Law  (see  208),  is  the  fixed  accent 
on  the  radical  syllable.  This  accent  being  a  strong  stress 
accent,  its  presence  on  one  syllable  of  a  word  resulted  in  the 
loss  of  accent  on  adjacent  and  near-by  syllables  of  the  word, 
altho  often  a  secondary  accent  was  retained,  especially  in  the 
second  element  of  compound  words,  such  as  bordweall,  wis- 
faest.  In  general,  however,  the  lack  of  accent  on  suffixes  and 
inflectional  endings  resulted,  in  Gmc  and  in  OE,  in  the  weaken- 
ing or  disappearance  of  vowels,  and  even  of  final  consonants 
in  unaccented  syllables. 

254.  The  history  of  IE  and  Gmc  consonants  and  vowels 
in  medial  and  final  unaccented  syllables  is  too  lengthy  and 
complicated  for  profitable  discussion  in  an  elementary  book 
about  OE.  Two  unaccented  vowels,  however,  in  the  final 
position  are  of  sufficient  importance  to  compel  attention. 
They  are  -I,  and  -o. 

255.  Gmc  final  -i  preserved  its  original  sound  in  OE  long 
enough  to  umlaut  a  preceding  vowel.  About  700  it  dis- 
appeared if  preceded  by  a  long  syllable;  if  preceded  by  a  short 
syllable,  it  became  -e:  thus  in  the  i-stem  nouns:  *gasti> 
*^aesti  >  *geasti >  *^Iesti >  giest ;  *wini >  wine. 

256.  WGmc  final  -o  became  OE  -u,  thus  falling  together 
with  original  final  -u,  which  occurs  in  the  u-stems.  About  700, 
final  -u  disappeared  after  a  long  radical  syllable,  but  remained 
after  a  short  radical  syllable:  WGmc  *gef6>0E  iiefu;  WGmc 
*lairo>Prehist  OE  *laru>OE  lar;  WGmc  *feldu>OE  feld; 
WGmc  *handu>OE  hand;  sunu,  duru,  with  short  radical 
syllables,  retain  original  -u. 


130  REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 

257.  When  followed  by  a  consonant  in  a  final  syllable, 
WGmc  unaccented  -6-  often  became  a:  Second  weak  verbs, 
2d  and  3d  Sing.  Pres.  Indie,  bodast,  bodal)<Prehist  OE 
*bodos(t),  *bod6l>. 

Syncopation 

258.  Syncopation,  which  consists  in  the  loss  of  a  vowel 
between  two  consonants,  occurred  frequently  in  the  case  of  the 
short  vowels  e,  i  and  o,  after  the  period  of  umlaut,  but  before 
700.  Syncopation  affected  sometimes  the  vowel  of  the  second 
syllable  of  a  dissyllabic  word  or  form,  and  sometimes  the  vowel 
of  the  medial  syllable  of  a  trisyllabic  word  or  form. 

259.  Syncopation  in  Dissyllabic  Forms. 

The  dissyllabic  forms  in  which  the  vowel  of  the  second 
syllable  is  syncopated  are: 

(1)  The  2d  and  3d  Sing.  Pres.  Indie,  of  all  strong  verbs 
and  of  many  first  weak  verbs:  helpan,  hilpst,  hilp));  cuman, 
cymst,  cym]);  deman,  demst,  deml>;  lecgan,  le^st,  \e^\>. 

(2)  The  Past  Part,  of  first  weak  verbs  which  had  a  radical 
syllable  ending  in  d  or  t :  hreddan,  hredd ;  settan,  sett ;  liedan, 
l^dd. 

260.  Syncopation  in  Trisyllabic  Forms. 

Syncopation  of  the  vowel  of  the  second  (medial)  syllable 
occurred  in  an  open  syllable  when  the  radical  syllable  was  long. 
The  situation  occurred  in: 

(1)  Some  inflectional  forms  of  nouns  and  adjectives,  such 
as:  engles,  engle,  englas;  beside  Nom.  Sing,  engel,  angel; 
heafdes,  heafde,  beside  heafod,  head;  halges,  halgum,  halgan 
beside  hali^,  holy;  o)>res,  o|)re,  beside  oJ>er,  other. 

(2)  In  the  Pret.  of  first  weak  verbs  which  had  an  originally 
long  radical  syllable:  demde,  demdest,  demdon,  judged. 


SYNCOPATION;  OLD  ENGLISH  h  131 

(3)  In  inflected  forms  of  the  Past  Part,  of  first  weak  verbs 
with  a  long  radical  syllable,  if  the  inflectional  ending  began 
with  a  vowel:  Nom.  Ace.  Plu.  hierde,  heard,  beside  Ace.  Sing. 
Masc.  hieredne ;  fylde,  beside  fylledne,  filled;  demde,  beside 
demedne,  judged. 

(4)  In  some  originally  trisyllabic  nouns,  such  as  Prehist  OE 
*8trangi})o,  OE  streng]>u,  strength. 

(5)  In  the  comparative  degree  of  adjectives:  *bradlra, 
brsedra.  broader. 

Consonant  Changes 

261.  f,  K  8,  inOE. 

Initial  and  final  Prim  OE  f,  J?,  and  s  remained  voiceless  in 
OE :  fif ,  five;  l>orn,  thorn;  wear]),  became;  sendan,  send;  waes, 
was. 

Medial  f  and  s  next  to  voiceless  consonants  remained  voice- 
less: haeft,  captive;  isesU  firm. 

Medial  f,  \>y  and  s  between  voiced  sounds  became  voiced 
spirants,  v,  tJ,  and  z,  about  700:  wulfas,  wolves;  seo)>an,  boil; 
nosu,  nose. 

262.  WGmc  h  in  OE. 

WGmc  initial  h  was  a  simple  breath,  as  in  ModE  horn. 
WGmc  medial  or  final  h  was  a  voiceless  spirant  like  ModHG 
ch  in  macht,  makes,  ich,  /. 

Initial  h  in  OE  remained  a  simple  breath,  as  in  ModE: 
horn,  horn. 

Medial  -h-  remained  a  voiceless  spirant  before  a  voiceless 
consonant:  sohte,  he  sought. 

Final  -h  remained  a  spirant:  ^el^ah,  he  prospered. 

hs  became  ks  (x) :  weahsan,  weaxan,  grow. 


132  REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 

263.  Loss  of  Intervocalic  h. 

1.  Intervocalic  h  disappeared  about  700.  The  accented 
vowel  or  diphthong  which  originally  preceded  h  absorbed  the 
vowel  which  followed. 

a+vowel  became  a:      *tahe  became  ta,  toe. 
0+ vowel  became  6 :      *f6hu  became  fo,  /  seize;  *fohan  became 
fon,  seize;  *f6he   became  fo,    /   seize 
(sub  June). 
ea+ vowel  became  ea:  *heahes  became  heas,  high  (Gen.  Sing.) 
eo+ vowel  became  eo:  *fleohan  became  fleon,  flee. 
io+vowel  became  io:    *tiohan  became  lion  (teon),  blame. 

A  short  diphthong  was  lengthened  by  the  absorption  of  a 
following  vowel: 

ea+ vowel  became  ea:  "'sleahan  became  slean,  strike. 
eo+ vowel  became  eo:  *feohes  became  feos,   property   (Gen. 

Sing.). 
10+ vowel  became  io:     *twioha  became  twio   (tweo),  doubt. 
ie+ vowel  became  ie:     *iehe  became  ie,  river  (Dat.  Sing.). 

Apparent  exceptions  to  this  change  are  2d  sing.  pres. 
fehst,  siehst  (<*fohis,  *siohis);  3d  sing.  fehl>,  siehl>  (<*fohiJ>, 
*8iohil>).  The  preservation  of  the  originally  intervocalic  h  is 
due  here  to  the  syncopation  of  the  following  vowel  i,  which  took 
place  before  the  disappearance  of  intervocalic  h. 

2.  h  between  a  liquid  and  a  vowel  also  disappeared  about 
700.     A  short  preceding  diphthong  is  usually  lengthened: 

ea  became  ea:  *mearhes  became  meares,  oj  a  horse;  *Wealhas 

became  Wealas,  foreigners. 
eo  became  eo :  *feorhes   became  feores,   of  a  life;  ^seolhes 

became  seoles,  of  a  seal. 

Late  Changes  in  Vowels  and  Diphthongs 

264.  During  the  historic  period  of  OE  a  number  of  changes 
took  place  in  vowels  and  diphthongs. 


LATE  VOWEL  CHANGES  133 

265.  In  EWS,  ie  or  ie,  no  matter  of  what  origin,  and  with- 
out regard  to  the  adjacent  sounds,  frequently  became  i  or  i, 
beside  which  appears  also  ie  or  ie.  EWS  giefan,  ^ifan,  give; 
nieht,  niht,  night;  scieppend,  sclppend,  creator;  hierde,  hirde, 
shepherd;  wielm,  wilm,  welling;  hieran,  hiran,  hear;  gieman, 
^iman,  care  for;  fiend,  find,  foes;  l>rie,  J?ri,  three.  After  w, 
however,  ie  frequently  appears  in  EWS  as  y;  e.g.,  wiertJe, 
wyrtJe;  wierp]),  wyrpj). 

In  LWS,  ie  or  ie  usually  appears  as  y  or  y,  but  sometimes, 
especially  when  followed  by  c,  ^,  h,  or  s,  as  i  or  i. 

LWS  iyfan,  wylm,  hyran,  §yman,  fynd,  l)ry. 

LWS  hlihhan,  laugh;  niht,  night;  lig,  flame;  fryst,  freezes; 
(EWS  hliehhan,  nieht,  lieg,  friest). 

266.  y  or  y  which  came  from  u  or  u  by  i-umlaut  became 
LWS  i  or  i  thru  the  influence  of  a  following  palatal;  hi^e, 
mind;  bicgan,  buy;  J^incan,  seem;  bricj?^  (briican),  enjoys, 
(EWS  hyge,  bycgan,  l^yncan,  bryc]?). 

267.  io  and  eo,  the  diphthongs  resulting  from  Breaking, 
became,  as  early  as  900,  ie,  i,  or  y  before  hs  and  ht :  Gmc  *sehs, 
EWS  seox>WS  siex,  six,  six;  Gmc  *reht,  Prehist  OE  *reoht> 
WS  riht,  ryht,  right;  Gmc  *cneht,  Prehist  OE  *cneoht>WS 
cnieht,  cniht,  boy. 

In  LWS  the  diphthong  eo  usually  became  u  when  it  was 
preceded  by  w  and  followed  by  r  plus  a  consonant:  EWS 
weortJan,  LWS  wurtJan,  become;  EWS  sweord,  LWS  swurd, 
sword. 


**  In  brie})  (EWS  brycj»)  the  c  was  palatalised,  that  is  fronted,  in  Prehist 
OE,  but  probably  did  not  undergo  the  further  change  to  c.  The  change  to  c 
was  hindered  by  the  \t  which  followed  the  c  after  syncopation  had  taken  place. 
See  242. 


134  REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 

268.  ea,  the  diphthong  resulting  from  Breaking,  often 
became  EWS  e  before  h:  meahte,  mehte,  might;  eahta,  ehta, 
eight;  feaht,  feht,  fought;  seah,  seh,  saw. 

269.  ea,  of  whatever  origin,  sometimes  became  EWS  e 
when  preceded  by  c,  ^,  or  sc:  ceaster,  cester,  city;  forgeaf, 
for^ef,  forgave;  sceal,  seel,  shall. 

270.  ea  sometimes  became  EWS  e  when  preceded  by  c,  i, 
or  8c:  iear,  §er,  year;  on^ean,  on^en,  against;  ceas,  ces, 
chose;  scea}>,  scel>,  sheath. 

271.  ea  often  became  LWS  e  when  followed  by  h|>,  hs,  or 
hg:  *eag])yrel,  ehjjyrel,  window;  heahsta,  hehsta,  highest; 
neah^ebur,  neh^ebur,  neighbor. 

272.  ea  often  became  LWS  e  when  followed  by  h,  g,  c: 
teah,  teh,  drew;  l>eah,  |)eh,  though;  heah,  heh,  high;  neah,  neh, 
near;  eage,  e^e,  eye;  eac,  ec,  also. 

273.  LWS  gd,  gn. 

In  LWS,  g  between  a  short  vowel  and  a  voiced  dental  was 
frequently  lost;  the  preceding  vowel  was  lengthened:  fri^nan 
became  frinan,  ask;  bre^dan  became  bredan,  move. 


MORPHOLOGY 


DECLENSIONS 


SOL  The  Old  English  declensions  were  historically  the 
same  as  those  of  Latin,  Greek,  Sanscrit,  Gothic,  Old  Norse, 
Old  Saxon,  and  Old  High  German. 

302.  The  Gmc  noun  in  a  prehistoric  period  was  inflected 
by  adding  to  a  stem  various  endings  which  indicated  case  and 
number. 

A  stem  seems  originally  to  have  consisted  of  an  element 
called  a  "base"or  "root,"  to  which  usually  was  added  a  sufiix 
consisting  of  a  vowel  (IE  e,  o,  a,  i,  u),  or  of  a  consonant  (r), 
or  of  a  vowel  plus  a  consonant  (en,  on,  es,  os,  et,  ot,  etc.); 
some  words  in  the  IE  languages  had  stems  consisting  of  a  base 
ending  in  a  consonant  to  which  the  case  endings  were  attached 
without  an  intervening  suffix. 

The  classification  of  nouns  in  school  grammars  of  Latin 
does  not  conform  to  the  scientific  classification.  The  Lat 
"first"  declension  consists  of  IE  a-stems;  the  "second"  declen- 
sion of  IE  o-stems;  the  "third"  of  consonant-stems  and  i-stems; 
the  "fourth"  of  u-stems. 

303.  The  vowel  stems  can  be  clearly  distinguished  in 
Gothic,  where,  in  the  Ace.  Plu.,  the  case  ending  -ns  (or  -s)  is 
added  to  the  stem.  It  must  be  remembered  that  IE  o  became 
Gmc  a,  and  IE  a  became  Gmc  o. 

1.  IE  0,  Gmc  a-decl.  Goth  Ace.  Plu.  daga-ns,  days. 

2.  IE  a,  Gmc  6-decl.  Goth  Ace.  Plu.  gibo-s,  gifts. 

3.  IE  and  Gmc  i-decl.  Goth  Ace.  Plu.  gastl-ns,  guests. 

4.  IE  and  Gmc  u-decl.  Goth  Ace.  Plu.  sanu-ns,  sons. 

135 


136  REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 

Case  Endings 

304.  IE  had  eight  cases:  Nominative,  Genitive,  Dative, 
Accusative,  Vocative,  Ablative,  Instrumental,  Locative.  These 
cases  were  distinguished  by  case  endings  which  were  added  to 
the  stem.  The  IE  case  endings  were  so  affected,  however,  by 
Gmc  and  OE  sound  changes  that  in  OE  the  fact  that  the 
noun  originally  consisted  of  base,  suffix,  and  case  ending  is 
usually  much  obscured.  In  some  forms,  e.g.,  OE  Nom.  Sing. 
dae^  (<Gmc  *dagaz)  both  the  vowel  suffix,  indicating  the 
kind  of  stem,  and  the  case  ending  have  been  completely  lost. 

Furthermore,  in  OE  (as  in  most  other  IE  languages)  cases 
have  "fallen  together,"  that  is,  by  phonetic  change  two  or  more 
cases  which  were  originally  distinct  have  become  identical,  or 
one  case  ending  has  been  abandoned  for  another.  Thus,  of 
the  eight  IE  cases,  OE  has  only  four  surviving  in  the  noun,  and 
five  in  the  adjective  and  pronoun:  Nominative,  Genitive, 
Dative,  Accusative,  Instrumental. 

305.  Vowel  Stems.  Four  kinds  of  Gmc  vowel  stems  are 
to  be  distinguished:  a-stems  (masc,  and  neut.),  6-stems  (fem.), 
i-stems  (all  genders),  u-stems  (all  genders). 

In  OE  nearly  all  the  nouns  originally  belonging  to  the  i-stems 
and  u-stems  have  "gone  over"  to  the  a-stems  or  the  6-stems; 
that  is  to  say,  the  masculine  and  neuter  i-stems  and  u-stems 
exhibit  the  same  inflectional  endings  as  the  a-stems,  the  femi- 
nines  the  same  endings  as  the  6-stems. 

306.  Consonant  Stems.  Several  types  of  consonant  stems 
existed  in  OE.     The  original  consonant  stems  are  of  two  types: 

1.  Those  consisting  of  a  radical  syllable + suffix  ending  in  a 
consonant,  to  which  were  added  the  primitive  case  endings. 

The  consonant  stems  of  this  first  class  had  suffixes  ending 
in  -n  (huntan-),  -z  (lambaz-),  -r  (fatSr-),  -|>  (m6na]7-). 


DECLENSION— NOUNS  137 

2.  Those  consisting  of  a  radical  syllable  ending  in  a  consonant, 
to  which  were  added  the  primitive  case  endings. 

The  consonant  stems  of  this  second  class  end  in  any  con- 
sonant (mann,  fot,  boc). 

3.  In  addition  to  these,  certain  derivative  consonant  stems 
existed  in  OE  which  were  originally  present  active  participles 
which  became  nouns  of  the  agent,  as  feond,  hater,  enemy.  The 
stem  of  these  nouns  ends  in  -nd. 

Nouns 

Masculine  and  Neuter  a-DECLENSiON 

307.  The  a-declension^  consists  of  masculines  and  neuters. 
It  includes  a-stems,  ja-stems,  and  wa-stems. 

Masculine  h-Stems 

Monosyllables:  stan,  stone;  daeg,  day;  mearh,  horse;  eoh, 
horse. 

Singular 
dsei  mearh  eoh 

dfeges  meares  eos 

daege  meare  eo 

Plural 
dagas  mearas 

daga  meara 

dagum  mearum 

In  Prim  Gmc  the  Nom.  Sing,  of  stan  was  *stainaz. 

For  the  change  from  a  to  ae  in  the  Sing,  of  dae^,  see  224. 
For  the  disappearance  of  h  in  the  oblique  cases  of  mearh,  eoh, 
see  263. 

*  The  Gmc  a-declension  corresponds  to  the  Lat  and  Gr  "second"  declen- 
sion (Lat  servus,  servos;  Gr  logos);  it  is  sometimes  called  the  "o-declension," 
according  to  the  IE  terminology. 


N. 

A. 

stan 

G. 

stanes 

D. 

I. 

stane 

N. 

A. 

stanas 

G. 

stana 

D. 

I. 

stanum 

138 


REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 


308.  Dissyllables:  cyning,  king;  engel,  angel;  heofon, 
heaven;  fugol,  bird. 

Singular 
N.  A.     cyning  engel  heofon  fugol 

G.  cyninges         engles  heofones         fugles 

D.  I.      cyninge  engle  heofone  fugle 

Plural 
N.  A.     cyningas         englas  heofenas         fuglas 

G.  cyninga  engla  heofena  fugla 

D.  I.      cyningum        englum  heofenum       fuglum 

If  the  first  syllable  is  long  and  if  the  second  syllable  is  short, 
as  in  engel,  as  a  general  rule  the  vowel  which  appears  in  the 
second  syllable  of  the  Nom.  Sing,  does  not  appear  in  the  in- 
flected forms.  If  both  syllables  are  short,  the  vowel  which 
appears  in  the  second  syllable  of  the  Nom.  Sing,  sometimes 
appears  and  sometime  does  not  appear  in  the  inflected  forms. 


Neuter  a- Stems 

309.     Monosyllables;  lim,    limb;   faet,    vessel;   ban,    bone; 
word,  word;  feoh,  property. 

Singular 

ban  word  feoh 

banes  wordes        feos 

bane  worde  feo 

Plural 

ban  word 

bana  worda 

banum  wordum 

In  Prim  Gmc  the  Nom.  Sing,  of  lim  was  *limam. 
In  monosyllables  the  ending  -u  of    the  Nom.-Acc.   Plu. 
disappeared  after  a  long  syllable  (see  256).     For  feos,  feo,  see 
263. 


N.  A. 

lim 

ii&i 

G. 

limes 

fates 

D.I. 

lime 

facte 

N.  A. 

limu 

fatu 

G. 

lima 

fata 

D.I. 

limum 

fatum 

DECLENSION— NOUNS 


139 


310.  Dissyllables:  tungol,  star;  water,  water;  tacen,  sign; 
heafod,  head. 

Singular 
N.  A.     tungol  waeter  tacen  heafod 

G.  tungles  w^eteres  tacnes  heafdes 

D.  I.      tungle  waetere  tacne  heafde 

Plural 
N.  A.     tungol  (-glu)  waeter(-u)       tacen(-u)        heaf(o)du 
G.  tungla  waetera  tacna  heafda 

D.  I.       tunglum  wseterum        tacnum  heafdum 

If  the  first  syllable  is  long,  and  the  second  short,  as  in  tungol, 
the  vowel  which  appears  in  the  second  syllable  of  the  Nona. 
Sing,  generally  does  not  appear  in  the  inflected  forms. 

Masculine  and  Neuter  ja-STEMS 

311.  Masculines:  secg,  man;  here,  army;  ende,  end. 

Singular 

here  ende 

her(i)^e8  endes 

her(i)^e  ende 

Plural 

her(i)^as  endas 

her(i)ga  enda 

her(i)^um  endum 

312.  Neuters:  cynn,   kin;  rice,   kingdom;  westen,   waste. 
Singular 

rice  westen 

rices  westennes 

rice  westenne 
Plural 

N.  A.         cyn(n)  ricu  westennu 

G.  cynna  rica  westenna 

D.  I.  cynnum  ricum  westennum 


N.  A. 

G. 

D.I. 

N.  A. 

G. 

D.I. 


N.  A. 
G. 
D.  I. 


secg 

secges 

secge 

secg(e)as 

secg(e)a 

secg(e)um 


cyn(n) 
cynnes 
cynne 


140  REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 

In  Prim  Gmc  the  Nom.  Sing,  of  secg  and  cynn  were  *sasjaz 
and  *kunjam. 

The  j  umlauted  the  vowel  of  the  preceding  syllable,  and 
geminated  the  final  consonant  (except  r)  if  the  vowel  of  the 
preceding  syllable  was  short  (see  251,  238,  221).  The  j  dis- 
appeared except  after  r,  as  in  heroes  (see  238). 

In  the  Nom.  Sing.,  secg  and  cynn,  which  exhibit  no  ending, 
had  originally  short  radical  syllables;  while  ende  and  rice, 
which  exhibit  the  ending  -e,  had  originally  long  radical  syl- 
lables. 

In  the  Nom.- Ace.  Neut.  Plu.,  cynn,  with  no  ending,  had  an 
originally  short  radical  syllable;  while  ricu,  with  -n,  had  an 
originally  long  radical  syllable. 

wa- Stems 
.^13.     Masculines:  bearu,  grove;  l^eow,  servant. 

Singular 
N.  A.     bearu,  -o  J)eo(w) 

G.  bearwes  j)eowes 

D.  I.     bearwe  jjeowe 

Plural 
N.  A.    bearwas  I)eowas 

G.  bearwa  l>eowa 

D.  I.      bearwum  Jjeowum 

In  Prim  Gmc  the  Nom.  Sing,  of  bearu  and  |>eow  were 
*barwaz  and  *J)ewaz.  When  the  ending  -az  was  lost,  -w 
became  vocalized  to  -u,  often  written  -o.  The  -u  remained 
after  a  short  syllable  as  in  bearu.  When  the  radical  syllable 
ended  in  a  short  vowel,  the  -u  combined  with  the  vowel  to  form 
a  diphthong.  Thus  Prim  OE  *|)ew>*l)eu>l>eo.  The  -w  of 
\feow  is  by  analogy  with  the  oblique  cases.  In  the  oblique 
cases  the  original  e  of  \>eow  became  eo  thru  the  influence  of  the 
w  that  followed;  this  eo,  which  was  originally  short,  was  fre- 


DECLENSION— NOUNS  141 

quently  lengthened  to  eo  thru  the  influence  of  the  nominative 
form  J)eo(w). 


314. 

Neuters : 

bealu,  evil;  cneo, 
Singular 

knee. 

N.  A. 

bealu,  -0 

cneo(w) 

G. 

bealwes 

cneowes 

D.  L 

bealwe 

Plural 

cneowe 

N.  A. 

bealu,  -0 

cneo(w),  -wu 

G. 

bealwa 

cneowa 

D.  I. 

bealwum 

cneowum 

In  Prim  Gmc  the  Norn.  Sing,  of  bealu  was  *balwam. 

Feminine  6-Declension 

315.     The  6-declension^  consists  of  feminine  nouns  only. 
It  includes  6-stems,  jo-stems,  and  w6-stems. 

Feminine  o- Stems 


^iefu,  gift;  lar,  wisdom. 

Singular 

Plural 

[ 

N.     giefu         lar 

|iefa,  -e 

lira,  -e 

G.     iiefe         lare 

^iefa,  -ena 

lara,   -na, 

-ena 

D.  I.     giefe         lare 

giefum 

larum 

A.     giefe         lare 

giefa,  -e 

lara,  -e 

In  Prim  Gmc  the  Nom.  Sing,  of  ^iefu  was  *xebo. 

The  Nom.  Sing,  ending  -u  was  retained  after  a  short  syl- 
lable, but  was  lost  after  a  long  syllable  (see  256). 

The  ending  -ena,  -na  of  the  Gen.  Plu.,  which  occurs  in  some 
words  of  this  class  beside  the  regular  Gen.  Plu.  ending  -a,  is 

'  The  Gmc  o-declension  corresponds  to  the  Lat  and  Gr  "first"  declension 
(Lat  mensa-);  it  is  sometimes  called  the  "a-declension,"  according  to  the  IE 
terminology. 


142  REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 

after  the  analogy  of  the  n-stems.      It  occurs  chiefly  in  words 
with  short  stems. 

316.     Dissyllables:  firen,  crime;  sawol,  sou/. 


Singular 

Plural 

N. 

firen      sawol 

N.  A.     firena,  -e     sawla,  - 

G. 

firene    sawle 

firena          sawla 

D.  I. 

firene    sawle 

firenum       sawlum 

A. 

firene    sawle 

In  the  Nom.  Sing,  no  endings  occur. 

If  the  radical  syllable  is  long,  as  in  sawol,  the  vowel  of  the 
second  syllable  of  the  Nom.  Sing,  generally  does  not  appear  in 
the  inflected  forms. 

Feminine  jo-Stems 

317.  Monosyllables:  synn,  si«;  ^ierd,  roJ. 

Singular  Plural 

N.     syn(n)     gierd       N.  A.     synna,  -e    gierda,  -e 
G.     synne      ^ierde  G.      synna  gierda 

D.I.  synne  ^ierde  D.I.  synnum  gierdum 
A.  synne  ^ierde 
In  Prim  Gmc  the  Nom.  Sing,  of  synn  was  *sunj6.  The  j 
umlauted  the  radical  vowel,  and  geminated  the  final  consonant 
of  a  short  radical  syllable  (see  251,  221).  In  Prehist  OE 
*8ynnu  the  Nom.  Sing,  ending  -u  was  then  lost  after  the  long 
syllable,  as  also  in  *gierdu,  originally  long  (see  256). 

318.  Polysyllables:  byrjjen,  burden. 

Singular  Plural 

N.     byrl>en  byrl>enna,  -e 

G.     byr|>enne  byrjjenna 

D.  I.     byr|>enne  byr^ennum 

A.     byrl>enne  byrjjenna,  -e 

The  j  geminated  the  preceding  consonant  (see  221). 


DECLENSION— NOUNS 


143 


N. 

beadu 

G. 

beadwe 

D.  I. 

beadwe 

A. 

beadwe 

ST.  A. 

beadwa,  -e 

G. 

beadwa 

D.  I. 

beadwum 

Feminine  wo-Stems 

319.  beadU}  battle;  mied,  meadow;  clea,  claw. 
Singular 

m£ed  clea(w) 

miedwe  clawe 

msbdwe  clawe 

m^dwe  clawe 

Plural 

m^dwa,  -e         clea 
m£edwa  clawa 

msedwum  cleam 

In  Prim  Gmc  the  Nom.  Sing,  of  beadu  was  *ba'5wo.  In 
the  Nom.  Sing.  *-wo  became  -wu,  and  w  disappeared,  because 
followed  by  the  rounded  vowel  -u. 

Nom.  Sing,  -u  was  lost  after  a  long  syllable,  as  in  maed  (see 
256). 

In  the  Nom.  Sing,  clea(w),  *clawu>*clau>clea  (see  233). 
The  (w)  is  by  analogy  from  the  oblique  cases. 

Other  Feminine  Nouns 

320.  Old  English  had  also  three  groups  of  feminine  nouns, 
of  different  history  from  the  6-stems,  but  usually  showing  in 
OE  the  same  endings  as  the  regular  6-stems.  These  nouns 
may,  therefore,  be  considered  here. 

Feminine  Stems  in  -i|>o 
Prim    Gmc   formed   from    adjectives   a   number   of 


321. 

abstract   nouns  in 
strength. 


■iJ)o,   e.g.,   *stranxiJ>o,  OE   strengl>u, 


N. 

G. 

D.  I. 

A. 


Singular 

strengl^u, 

strengt)e, 

strengl)e, 

streng]7e, 


■o,  streng)) 
•u,  -o 
■u,  -o 
•u,  -o 


Plural 
streng})a,  -e,  -u,  -o 
strengtia 
streng}>um 
streng})a,  -e,  -u,  -o 


144 


REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 


In  Prehist  OE  the  radical  vowel  was  umlauted  and  the 
medial  vowel  syncopated  (see  251 ;  260,  4).  In  the  Nom.  Sing., 
the  -u  sometimes  appears,  sometimes  not.  The  -u  of  the  Nom. 
Sing,  was  often  levelled  into  the  oblique  cases. 


Feminine  Stems  in  -in 

322.  Prim  Gmc  also  formed  abstract  notins  from  adjectives 
by  means  of  the  suffix  -in.  Cf.  Goth  braidei,  Gen.  Sing. 
braideins;  ModHG  Breite,  breadth.  In  Prehist  OE  the  -i 
of  the  stem  was  shortened  to  -i;  i  umlauted  the  radical  vowel. 

But  very  early  the  nouns  with  this  stem  were  remodelled 
after  the  analogy  of  the  o-stems,  the  sufl&x  -in  giving  way  to 
Ngm.  Sing,  -u,  -o,  G.D.A:  -e.  Later  the  -u,  -o  of  the  Nom. 
was  levelled  into  the  other  cases  of  the  Sing. 


y 


br^du,  breadth 

Singular 

Plural 

N.     briedu,  -o                   N.  A- 

br^da,  -e 

G.  D.  I.  A.     brjede,  -u,  -o                  G. 

hrsbda 

D.I. 

briedum 

Feminine  Stems  in  -ing-5,  -ung-5 

323.  Prim  Gmc  formed  abstract  nouns  in  -mg5,  -ungo, 
-ango,  chiefly  from  second  weak  verbs.  In  OE  the  ending 
-ung  has  been  generalized,  so  that  -ing  is  of  comparatively 
infrequent  occurrence;  -ang  occurs  rarely,  if  ever,  in  OE. 

leornung,  learning 


Singular 
N.    leornung 
G.    leornunga,  -e 
D.  I.    leornunga,  -e 
A.     leornunga,  -e 


Plural 
N.    leornunga,  -e 
G.     leornunga 
D.  I.     leornungum 
A.     leornunga,  -e 


DECLENSION— NOUNS  J45 

i- Stems 

324.  The  i-declension  includes  masculine,  feminine,  and 
neuter  nouns.  In  OE  the  great  majority  of  original  i-stems 
appear  with  the  endings  of  a-  or  6-stems  throughout. 

Masculines:  wine,  friend;  ^iest,  stranger,  guest. 


Singular 

Plural 

N.  A. 

wine          giest 

wine,  -as     giestas 

G. 

wines        ^iestes 

wina            giesta 

D.I. 

wine          gieste 

winum         giestum 

In  Prim  Gmc  the  Nom.  Sing,  of  wine  and  giest  were  *winiz 
and  *xastiz.  The  -i  of  the  stem  umlauted  the  radical  vowel 
(*Sastiz>*^aesti>*geasti>*giest).  Final  -i  was  lost  after  a 
long  radical  syllable,  but  remained  after  a  short  radical  syllable 
(see  255). 

The  endings  -es  of  the  Gen.  Sing.,  -as  of  the  Nom.-Acc. 
Plu.,  -a  of  the  Gen.  Plu.,  and  -um  of  the  Dat.  Plu.  are  ana- 
logical endings  from  the  masculine  a-stems. 

A  fc7.^1urals,  especially  the  names  of  tribes  of  peoples, 

retain  the  old  ending  -e  of  the  Nom.-Acc.  Plu:  Dene,  Danes; 

Engle,  {the)  English;  Mierce,  the  Mercians;  Northymbre,  the 

Northumbrians;  Seaxe,  the  Saxons.     So  also  ielde,  men;  wine, 

friends;  ielfe,  elves;  and  liode,  leode,  peoples. 

A  few  words  like  Dene  and  wine  sometimes  retain  the  old 
Gen.  Plu.  Denigea  and  wini^ea. 

325.    Long  Stemmed  Feminines:  cwen,  queen. 
Singular  Plural 


N. 

cwen 

cwene 

G. 

cwene 

cwena 

D.I. 

cwene 

cwenum 

A. 

cwen,  (- 

•e) 

cwene 

In  Prim  Gmc  the  Nom.  Sing,  of  cwen  was  *kw£eniz. 


146  REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 

The  Ace.  Sing,  with  no  ending  is  a  distinguishing  mark  of 
these  nouns;  the  Ace.  Sing,  of  Fem.  6-stems  ends  in  -e. 

The  short  feminine  i-stems  went  over  to  the  6-stems  in 
Prehist  OE,  so  that  only  the  umlaut  of  the  radical  vowel 
discloses  their  original  declension. 


326. 

Neuters:  spere,  ^ 

spear. 

Singular 

Plural 

N.  A.     spere 

speru,  -0 

G.     speres 

spera 

D.  I.     spere 

'  sperum 

The  Gen.  Sing,  and  all  the  cases  of  the  plural  are  analogical 
formations  after  the  neuter  a-stems. 

327.  Long  Stemmed  Neuters :  dsbsc,  flesh. 

Singular  Plural 

N.  A.     fliesc  fliesc 

G.     fisesces  flsesca 

D.  I.     fliesce  fl^scum 

Like  fl^sc  are  declined  a  few  long-stemmed  neuters.  Since 
the  radical  syllable  is  long,  no  endings  occur  in  the  Nom.-Acc. 
Sing,  and  Plu. 

u-Stems 

328.  This  declension  includes  masculines,  feminines,  and 
neuters.  The  great  majority  of  these  nouns  appear,  however, 
with  the  endings  of  the  a-  or  o-stems. 

Masculines :  sunu,  son;  feld,  fl^ld. 

Singular  Plural 

N.  A.    sunu,  -o,  -a      feld  suna  felda,  -as 

G.     suna  felda,  feldes  suna  felda 

D.  I.     suna  felda,  -e  sunum      feldum 


DECLENSION— NOUNS  147 

In  Prim  Gmc  the  Nom.  Sing,  of  sunu  was  '*'sunuz.  Only  a 
small  number  of  short-stemmed  masculine  u-stems  are  found 
in  OE.     Only  sunu  and  wudu  are  fully  declined. 

In  long  stems,  like  feld,  the  -u  of  the  Nom.-Acc.  Sing,  has 
disappeared. 

329.  Feminines:  Only  a  few  feminine  u-stems  remain  in 
literary  OE:  duru,  door;  hand  (hond),  hand;  fLdty  floor;  cweorn, 
mill. 

Singular  Plural 

N.  A.    duru  cweorn  dura,  -u        cweorna 

G.     dura  cweorna  dura  cweorna 

D.  I.     dura,  -u  cweorna  durum  cweornum 

In  Prim  Gmc  the  Nom.  Sing,  of  duru  was  *duruz.  The  long 
stems  have  lost  the  -u  in  the  Nom- Ace.  Sing  (see  256). 

330.  Neuters:  The  neuter  u-stems  have  all  but  dis- 
appeared in  literary  OE.  The  only  trace  is  WS  fela,  feola, 
much,  indeclinable. 

Consonant  Stems 

Original  Consonant  Stems 

n- Stems 

331.  The  n-stems  correspond  to  Latin  nouns  like  homo, 
hominis;  nomen,  nominis.  The  n,  which  in  OE  looks  like  a 
case  ending,  belonged  originally  to  the  suffix  which  was  added 
to  the  base  of  the  word  to  form  the  stem  (see  302,  306).  The 
relation  between  the  n  and  the  case  ending,  however,  is  still  ap- 
parent in  the  OE  Gen.  Plu. 

Masculines:  hunta,  hunter;  frea,  lord. 

Singular  Plural 

N.    hunta  frea  huntan  frean 

G.     huntan  frean  huntena        freana 

D.  I.     huntan  frean  huntum         frea(u)m 

A.     huntan  frean  huntan         frean 


148  REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 

332.  Feminines:  tunge,  tongue. 

Singular  Plural 

N.     tunge  tungan 

G.     tungan  tungena 

D.  I.     tungan  tungum 

A.     tungan  tungan 

333.  Neuters:  Only  two  words  in  OE  are  invariably 
declined  according  to  this  declension:  eage,  eye;  eare,  ear. 
wange,  cheek,  is  sometimes  inflected  as  a  neuter  n-stem. 

Singular  Plural 

N.  A.     eage  eagan 

G.     eagan  eagena 

D.  I.     eagan  eagum 

Neuter  iz-,  az-SxEMS 

334.  The  neuter  iz-,  az-stems'  correspond  to  the  Latin 
neuters  like  genus,  generis. 

lamb  (lomb),  lamb. 

Singular  Plural 

N.  A.     lamb  lambru 

G.     lambes  lambra 

D.  I.     lambe  lambrum 

Like  lamb  (lomb)  are  declined  cealf,  calf;  «§,  egg;  and 
occasionally  cild,  child. 

In  OE  these  words  show  the  characteristic  -r-  (<Gmc-z-) 
only  in  the  plural.  The  other  nouns  which  originally  belonged 
here  have  the  endings  of  other  declensions. 

For  an  account  of  the  "es,  os-declension,"  see  Wright, 
Old  English  Grammar,  §419. 

•The  OE  grammars  usually  call  these  "es-,  os-stems,"  using  the  IE 
terminology. 


DECLENSION— NOUNS  149 

r- Stems 

335.  To  this  declension  belong  nouns  of  relationship  in 
-r:  faeder,  father;  bro]7or,  brother;  modor,  mother;  dohtor, 
daughter;  sweostor,  sister,  and  the  collective  plurals  gebro)>or, 
-ru,  brethren;  gesweostor,  -ru,  sisters. 

Singular  Plural 

N.     faeder  brobor  fasderas       brol>or,  bro^ru 

G.     feeder,  -eres   br5|)or  faedera        brol>ra 

D.     faeder  brel)er  faederum     brol^rum 

A.     faeder  br6|>or  faederas       bro])or,  -ru 

dohtor  has  Dat.  Sing,  dehter,  Nom.  Ace.  Plu.  dehter;  modor 
has  Dat.  Sing,  meder,  Nom.  Ace.  Plu.  modor,  -dm,  -dra. 

The  umlaut  in  the  Dat.  Sing,  and  Nom.  Plu.  is  due  to  the 
Prim.  Gmc  endings  -i  and  -iz;  the  forms  were  Dat.  Sing. 
*dohtri;  Nom.  Plu.  *dohtriz. 

The  umlauted  radical  vowel  often  appears  in  the  Gen. 
Sing,  of  fems.:  meder,  dehter. 

Stems  in  -J> 

336.  In  OE  only  four  nouns  belonging  to  this  declension  are 
found: 

Masculines,  haele,  haeleK  man;  mona}>,  month;  feminine, 
mae^el?,  maiden;  neuter,  ealu,  ale. 

Singular 

N.  A.    haele,  haele|>  monab  maBi(e)J>  ealu 

G.     haele  bes  mona^es  maeg(e)l)  ealob 

D.  I.     haele^e  monaj^e  maeg(e)l>  ealob 

Plural 

N.  A.    haeleb  monab  mae^(e)I> 

G.     haele^a  mon(e)ba  maeg(e)]7a       eale}>a 

D.  I.     haele]>um  moii(e)I>um  maeg(e)})am 


150  REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 

The  -J>  is  not  phonetically  regular  in  the  Nom.  Sing.,  but 
was  levelled  from  the  cases  where  it  was  regular.  The  old 
Nom.  Sing,  is  preserved  in  haele  and  ealu.  The  Gen.  Sing, 
ending  -es  of  haele]>es  and  m5nal>es  is  from  the  a-stems.  These 
two  words  also  have  Nom.  Plu.  in  -as,  haelej^as  and  mone]7as. 

Root  Consonant  Stems 

337.  In  this  class  the  primitive  case  endings  were  attached 
directly  to  the  final  consonant  of  the  root  or  base.  The  class 
includes  masculines,  feminines,  and  one  neuter.  Examples 
are:  masculines,  mann,  man;  fot,  foot;  feminines,  boc,  book; 
burg,  city. 

Singular 
lot  boc  barg 

fotes        boce,  bee      byri§ 
fet  bee  byr^,  byri§ 

Plural 
fet  bee  byr^,  byri^ 

f5ta  boea  burga 

fotum      boeum  burgum 

Other  nouns  belonging  to  this  declension  are  tb\>j  tooth; 
Nom.  Plu.  tel>,  masc;  and  gos,  goose,  Nom.  Plu.  ges,  fem. 

In  Prim  Gmc  the  Dat.  Sing,  ended  in  -i  (*foti),  the  Nom. 
Plu.  in  -iz.  The  -i  and  -iz  were  lost  after  umlauting  the  radical 
vowel  (see  255).  The  umlauted  forms  of  the  Gen.  Sing,  in 
feminines,  are  historically  regular;  those  of  the  Ace.  Plu.  in 
masculines  and  feminines  are  analogical  after  the  Nom.  Plu. 

338.  Neuter:  The  only  neuter  of  this  class  is  the  word 
scrud,  garment. 

Singular  Plural 

N.  A.     serud  serud 

G.     serudes  seruda 

D.  I.     seryd  scrudum 


N.  A. 

mann 

G. 

mannes 

D.I. 

menn 

N.  A. 

menn 

G. 

manna 

D.  I. 

mannum 

DECLENSION— PRONOUNS 


151 


The  only  trace  of  the  original  inflection  in  this  word  is  the 
Dat.-Inst.  Sing,  scryd.  Otherwise  it  is  declined  like  a  neuter 
a-stem. 

Derivative  Consonant  Stems 
nd- Stems 

339.  The  -nd  declension  consists  of  original  present  partici- 
ples used  as  nouns:  ireond,  friend;  hettend,  enemy. 

Singular 

N.  A.     freond  N.  A.  hettend 

G.     freondes  G.  hettendes 

D.  I.     friend,  freonde  D.  I.  hettende 


.  A.     friend,  freond, 

hettend,  hettende, 

freondas 

hettendas 

G.     freonda 

hettendra 

).  I.     freondum 

hettendum 

Prim  Gmc  Dat.  Sing.  *f rijondi  >  Prehist  bE*friondi  >  friend. 
Prim  Gmc  Nom.  Plu.  *friiondiz>  Prehist  OE  *friondi  >  friend. 
The  ending  -e  of  the  Nom.  Plu.  hettende  is  from  the  adjec- 
tive (pronominal)  declension,  as  is  also  the  ending  -ra  of  the 
Gen.  Plu.  hettendra. 


340. 


Pronouns 

Personal  Pronouns 

First  Person. 

Singular 

Dual 

Plural 

N.     ic 

wit 

we 

G.     min 

nncer 

user,  fire 

D.     me 

nnc 

us 

A.     mec. 

me 

uncit,  nnc 

usic,  us 

152 


REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 


341.     Second  Person. 

Singular 

Dual 

Plural 

N.     l>u 

git 

i6 

G.     Hn 

incer 

cower,   lower 

D.     J>e 

inc 

eow,  iow 

A.     J)ec, 

l>e 

incit,  inc 

eowic,  eow,  iow 

342.    Third  Person. 

Singular 

Masculine 

Feminine 

Neuter 

N.    he 

heo 

,  hie 

hit 

G.     his 

hiere,  hire,  hyre 

his 

D.    him 

hiere,  hire,  hyre 

him 

A.     hine 

hie. 

hi,  hy 

hit 

Plural — All  Genders 

N. 

hie,  hi. 

hy ;  heo,  hio 

G. 

hiera,  hire,  hyra ;  heora, 

1  hiora 

D. 

him ;  heom 

A. 

hie,  hi. 

hy;  heo,  hio 

Reflexive  Pronouns 

343.  Old  English  did  not  have  an  independent  reflexive 
pronoun.  The  corresponding  forms  of  the  personal  pronouns 
were  used  for  the  reflexive  pronoun. 


Possessive  Pronouns 

344.  Possessive  pronouns  are  declined  as  strong  adjectives. 
They  are:  min,  mine;  \nn,  thine*;  sin,  his,  her,  etc.;  uncer, 
of  us  two;  incer,  of  you  two;  ure,  user,  our;  eower,  iower,  your. 
In  addition,  the  genitives  of  the  third  personal  pronoun  are 
used  to  indicate  possession. 


DECLENSION— PRONOUNS 


153 


Demonstrative  Pronouns 
345.     The  Demonstrative  se,  seo  (sio),  |>aet,  that. 


Singular 

Plural 

Masculine 

Feminine    Neuter              All  genders 

N. 

se 

seo,  sio        \>set                    \>a 

G. 

\>xs 

\>sbre           \>xs                  l>ara,   J)«ra 

D. 

J)«m, 

\>sim 

l>£ere            Itsbm^  ]7am        \>sbm,    ))am 

A. 

|>one, 

J?aene,  Jjane 

\>a                \>sdt                    \>a. 

I. 

!>?»  I>< 

m,  \>e 

J)y,  J)on,  te 

346.     The  Demonstrative  j^es,  l^eos  (Hos)»  Ws»  this. 

Singular 

Masculine 

Feminine                    Neuter 

N. 

\>es 

l>eos,  Hos                  Hs 

G. 

l)i8(s)es 

J)isse,  l>is(se)re         |>is(s)es 

D. 

|>is(8)um 

J)isse,  Hs(se)re         J>is(s)um 

A. 

Hsne 

l^as                             I>is 

I. 

\fys 

N. 

\>as 

Hsse,  Hs(se)re          J)ys 

Plural 
All  Genders 

G. 

I>issa,  }>eossa,  Hssera 

D. 

Hs( 

's)um,  l)ys(s)um,  J>eos(s)um 

A. 

\>as 

Relative  Pronouns 

347.  No  relative  pronoun  existed  in  IE  or  Gmc.  The 
relative  clause  construction  was  a  late  independent  develop- 
ment in  the  separate  languages. 

I.  In  OE  the  word  l^e  was  used  as  a  relative  pronoun.  It 
is  found 

(a)  by  itself,  e.g.,  se  stan  |>e,  the  stone  that  (the  builders 

rejected); 


154  REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 

(b)  in  combination  with  the  various  forms  of  se,  sec,  Jjaet, 
e.g.,  Augustinum  }7one  l^e  hi  ^ecoren  hsefdon,  Augustine, 
whom  they  had  chosen; 

(c)  occasionally  in  combination  with  a  form  of  the  personal 
pronoun,  e.g.,  Faeder  ure,  l>u  \>e  eart  on  heofenum,  Our 
Father,  who  art  in  heaven. 

II.  The  demonstrative  se,  seo,  J>aet  may  be  used  as  a 
relative  pronoun,  e.g.,  Jja  feng  Nero  to  rice,  se  forlet  Britena, 
then  came  Nero  to  the  throne,  who  lost  Britain. 

III.  swylc,  such,  is  sometimes  used  as  a  relative  pronoun, 
e.g.,  he  sece  swylcne  hlaford,  swylcne  he  wile,  let  him  seek 
such  a  lord  as  he  may  choose. 

IV.  swa,  so,  as,  is  sometimes  used  as  a  relative,  e.g., 
swylcra  yrrajja,  swa  Jju  unc  ser  serif e,  of  such  miseries  as  thou 
before  assigned  to  us. 

Interrogative  Pronoun 

348.  The  simple  interrogative  pronoun  has  two  genders, 
there  being  no  independent  form  for  the  feminine.  It  is 
declined  only  in  the  singular. 

Masculine  Neuter 

N.     hwa  hwaet 

G.     hwaes  hwaes 

D.     hw£em,  hwam  hwam,  hwam 

A.     hwone,  hwane,  hwaene  hwaet 

I.      hwi,  hwy,  hwon  hwi,  hwy,  hwon 

Indefinite  Pronouns 

349.  OE  has  a'  variety  of  words  used  as  indefinite  pronouns. 
Interrogative  pronouns  are  often  used  as  indefinite  pronouns: 
hwa  {who?),  someone,  anyone;  hwaet  {what?),  something,  any- 
thing; hwelc,  hwilc  {which?),  someone;  hwae^er  {who  of  two?), 


DECLENSION— ADJECTIVES  155 

someone.     These  pronouns  are  given  a  more  general  meaning 
by  being  used  with  swa  .  .  .  swa,  e.g.,  swa  hwa  swa,  whoever. 

350.  Other  indefinite  pronouns  are  made  from  hwa, 
hwaet,  hwelc,  hwaejjer  by  composition: 

(1)  With  the  indeclinable  hwugu,  hugu:  hwset(h)wugu, 
something,  hwelc(h)wugu,  anyone. 

(2)  With  the  prefix  ge- : 

^ehwa,  everyone,  ^ehwelc,  everyone,  ^ehwaejjer,  each  of  two. 

(3)  With  the  prefix  a- : 

ahwa,  anyone,  ahwaet,  anything,  ahwaeljer,  aw^er,  au};er,  ajjer, 
-owjjer,  either,  each. 

(4)  With  the  prefix  na<ne4-a-  (negative): 
nahw£el7er,  neither. 

(5)  With  the  prefix  £ei<a+*gi-: 

te^hwa,  any  one;  se^hwaet,  anything;  se^hwaejjer,  any  one. 

(6)  With  a-,  6-,  or  na-,  no+wiht: 
awiht,  £euht,  auht,  aht,  anything. 
owiht,  owuht,  oht,  anything. 
nawiht,  nowiht,  naht,  noht,  nothing. 

(7)  With  the  verb  nat  ("I  know  not")  prefixed  to  hwa, 
hwelc:  nathwa,  nathwelc,  anyone  whatever  (literally,  /  know 
not  who,  which). 

(8)  Indefinite  pronouns  are  made  also  from  numerals:  nan 
(<  ne+an),  no  one;  b\>eTi  another,  other.  These,  together  with 
the  indefinite  swelc,  swilc,  such  a  one;  sum,  some  one,  are 
declined  like  strong  adjectives. 

(9)  The  substantive  man(n),  one,  they,  people,  men,  is  also 
used  as  an  indefinite  pronoun. 

Adjectives 

351.  For  an  explanation  of  the  use  of  the  strong  and  the 
weak  adjective  declensions,  see  Chapter  VII,  77. 


156 


REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 


352. 


Strong  Declension  of  Adjectives 
a-,  6-Stems 

Short- stemmed  adjective:  sum,  some. 
Singular 


353. 


Masculine 

Feminine 

Neuter 

N.     sum 

sumu 

sum 

G.     sumes 

sumre 

sumes 

D.     sumum 

sumre 

sumum 

A.     sumne 

sume 

sum 

I.      sume 

sumre 

Plural 

sume 

J^.  A.     sume 

suma,  -e 

sumu,  -e 

G.     sumra 

sumra 

sumra 

D.  I.     sumum 

sumum 

sumum 

Long- stemmed  a 

idjective:  god,  good. 

Singular 

Masculine 

Feminine 

Neuter 

N.     god 

god 

god 

G.     godes 

godre 

godes 

D.     g5dum 

godre 

godum 

A.     godne 

gode 

god 

I.      gode 

godre 

Plural 

gode 

N.  A.     gode 

goda,  gode 

god,  gode 

G.     godra 

godra 

godra 

D.  I.      godum 

godum 

godum 

ending  -e  of  the  Nom.-Acc.  Plu. 

Neut.   is  after 

the 

analogy  of  the  masculines  and  feminines. 

The  Nom.  Sing.  Fem.  and  the  Nom.-Acc.  Plu.  Neut.  of 
god  lost  the  final  -u  because  of  the  long  radical  syllable. 

Forms  like  hwate,  Nom.  Plu.  of  hwaet,  have  a  (instead  of  x) 
by  analogy  with  such  plural  forms  as  hwatu,  hwata,  hwatum. 


DECLENSION— ADJECTIVES  157 

354.  Adjectives  in  -h:  heah,  high. 

Because  of  the  disappearance  of  intervocalic  h  in  OE,  many 
forms  of  heah  show  contraction  (see  263).  Such  are  Nom. 
Sing.  Fem.  hea  (<*heahu);  Gen,  Sing.  Masc.  and  Neut. 
heas;  Dat.  Sing.  Masc.  and  Neut.  hea(u)m;  Nom.-Acc.  Plu. 
hea.  Forms  like  Gen.-Dat.  Sing.  Fem.  hea(r)re,  Gen.  Plu. 
hea(r)ra,  Ace.  Sing.  Masc.  hea(n)ne,  frequently  have  -rr-, 
-nn-,  by  assimilation  of  -hr-,  -hn-. 

355.  Polysyllabic  Adjectives. 

Polysyllabic  adjectives  are  to  be  divided  into  two  classes: 
(1)  those  with  short  radical  syllables,  like  manig,  many,  open, 
open,  coren,  chosen;  (2)  those  with  long  radical  syllables,  like 
hali^,  holy,  lytel,  little,  holpen,  helped. 

(1)  Those  with  short  radical  syllables  retain  the  vowel  of 
the  second  syllable  throughout.  The  endings  of  the  strong 
declension  are  the  same  as  those  of  long  monosyllabic  adjectives 
like  god,  good. 

(2)  Those  with  long  radical  syllables  when  declined  strong 
usually  do  not  retain  the  vowel  of  the  second  syllable  if  the 
endings  begin  with  a  vowel.  Thus  the  strong  Masc.  Sing,  of 
halig  is  declined  Nom.  halig.  Gen.  halves,  Dat.  halgum.  Ace. 
haligne,  Inst,  halge.  When  declined  weak,  the  vowel  of  the 
second  syllable  rarely  appears.  Thus  the  weak  Masc.  Sing,  is 
declined,  Nom.  halga,  Gen.  Dat.  Ace.  Inst,  halgan  (see  258, 
260).  The  endings  of  the  strong  declension  are  the  same  as 
those  of  short  monosyllabic  adjectives  like  sum,  some. 

Analogy:  Forms  like  halites,  haligum,  halite,  haligan,  are 
due  to  the  analogy  of  forms  like  halig,  haligne,  which  kept  the 
vowel  of  the  second  syllable. 

ja-,  jo-SxEMS 

356.  In  adjectives  with  stems  originally  ending  in  -ja,  -jo, 
the  -j-  umlauted  the  radical  vowel.     When  the  radical  syllable 


158 


REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 


was  originally  short,  as  in  midd,  middle,  nytt,  useful,  the  final 
consonant  had  already  been  geminated  in  WGmc.  Adjectives 
with  originally  short  stems  are  declined  like  the  a-,  6-stem 
adjectives,  e.g.,  god;  adjectives  with  originally  long  radical 
syllables  are  declined  like  grene,  green. 


357.    grene,  green. 

Masculine 
N.    grene 
G.     grenes 
D.    grenum 
A.     grenne 
I.      grene 

N.  A.    grene 
G.     grenra 
D.  I.     grenum 


Singular 
Feminine 
grenu,  -o 
grenre 
grenre 
grene 
grenre 
Plural 
grena,  -e 
grenra 
grenum 


358.    wa-,  wo-stems:  ^earu,  ready. 
Singular 
Masculine         Feminine 
N.     iearu,  -o  iearu,  -o 

G.     ^earwes  ^earore 

D.     gearwum  gearore 

A.     gjearone  gearwe 

I.      gearwe  §earore 

Plural 
iearwa,  -< 
^earora 
gearwum 


N.  A.    gearwe 
G.     ^earora 
D.  I.     gearwum 


Neuter 

grene 

grenes 

grenum 

grene 

grene 

grenu,  -o 

grenra 

grenum 


Neuter 
g|earu,  -o 
iearwes 
gearwum 
gearu,  -o 
gearwe 

^earu,  -o 

gearora 

gearwum 


i- Stems 

359.    The  i-stem  adjectives,  which  were  few  in  number, 
in  OE  take  the  same  endings  as  the  ja-,  j6-stem  adjectives  like 


DECLENSION— ADJECTIVES  159 

grene.    Thus  are  declined  bryce,   brittle;  gjemyne,   mindful; 
swice,  deceitful;  blil>e,  joyful;  clsene,  clean;  swete,  sweet,  etc. 

u- Stems 

360.  Only  slight  traces  of  u-stem  adjectives  are  found  in 
OE.  cwic,  alive,  and  wlaec,  tepid,  occasionally  have  the  Nom. 
Sing,  Masc.  cwucu,  wlacu;  and  cwic  sometimes  has  the  Ace. 
Sing.  Masc.  cucune.  As  a  rule,  however,  these  adjectives 
are  declined  throughout  like  a-,  o-stems. 

Declension  of  Participles 

361.  Present  Participle. 

The  present  participle  may  be  declined  strong  or  weak. 
When  declined  strong,  it  is  declined  like  a  long-stemmed  ja-, 
jo-stem. 

When  used  predicatively,  the  present  participle  is  usually 
uninflected;  giefende  is  used  as  masculine,  feminine,  or  neuter, 
singular  or  plural. 

362.  Past  Participle. 

The  past  participle  is  declined  strong  or  weak  in  accordance 
with  the  same  rules  and  with  the  same  endings  as  an  ordinary 
adjective. 

Weak  Declension  of  Adjectives 

363.  goda,  good. 

Singular  Plural 

Masculine         Feminine  Neuter  All  Genders 

N.     goda           gode  gode  N.A.  godan 

G.D.I,   godan         g5dan  godan  G.  godena,  godra 

A.     godan         godan  gode  D.I.  g5dum 


160  REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 

Comparison  or  Adjectives 

364.  The  suffix  which  forms  the  comparative  degree  of  the 
adjective  appears  in  OE  as  -ra.  Prim  Gmc  used  two  suffixes, 
-iz-  and  -oz-,  to  which  were  added  the  case  endings  of  the  weak 
adjective.  In  WGmc,  -iza  became  -ira,  and  -oza  became  -era; 
in  Prehist  OE  -i-  of  -ira  umlauted  the  vowel  of  the  radical 
syllable.  Most  adjectives  in  Gmc  and  Prehist  OE  ended  in 
-oza  (-ora),  but  after  the  period  of  umlaut  had  passed,  -ra 
( <  *-ira  <  *-iza)  completely  supplanted  -ora.  This  is  the  reason 
for  the  prevailing  lack  of  umlaut  in  OE  adjectives  on  the  one 
hand,  and  the  regular  ending  -ra  on  the  other. 

earm,  poor — earmra; 

leof ,  dear — leof ra ; 

glasd,  glad — glsedra ; 

^earu,  ready — ^earora  (-o-<  vocalized  -w-); 

neah,  near — neahra,  nearra  (-rr-  from  assimilation  of  -hr-). 

365.  Only  a  few  adjectives  in  OE  have  umlaut  of  the 
radical  syllable. 

brad,  broad — brsedra,  beside  bradra;  eald,  old — ieldra; 
leorr,  far — fierra ;  geong,  young — ^ingra ;  great,  great — grietra ; 
heah,  high — hiehra,  hierra,  beside  heahra ;  lang,  long — lengra ; 
sceort,  short — scyrtra. 

The  comparative  forms  in  OE  were  declined  weak. 

The  Superlative 

366.  The  two  suffixes  which  formed  the  superlative  degree 
of  the  adjective  appear  in  OE  as  -est  and  -ost.  In  Prim  Gmc 
these  suffixes  were  -ist  and  -ost.  The  ending  -ost  is  the  most 
frequent  in  literary  OE.  The  adjectives  which  had  the  Prim 
Gmc  ending  -ist  were  comparatively  few  in  number;  they  show 
umlaut  of  the  radical  vowel. 

Examples: 

(a)  Superlative  in  -ost(a);  earmost(a),  leofost(a),  glae- 
dost(a). 


DECLENSION— ADJECTIVES  161 

(b)  Superlative  in  -est(a) ;  ieldest(a),  fierrest(a),  ^inge8t(a). 
The  superlative  forms  in  OE  were  frequently  declined  weak. 

Irregular  Comparison 

367.  In  the  case  of  some  adjectives,  the  comparative  and 
superlative  are  formed  from  a  different  root  than  that  of  the 
positive. 

god,  good — bet(e)ra,  bettra — bet(e)st(a);  selra,  sella. 

lytel,  little — liessa — last(a). 

micel,  great — mara — m£est(a). 

yfel,  evil — wiersa — wlerre8t(a),  wierst(a). 

368.  In  a  few  cases  comparative  and  superlative  adjectives 
were  formed  on  the  basis  of  prepositions  and  adverbs.  In 
such  cases  the  positive  degree  does  not  exist  as  an  adjective. 

(feorr),  far — fierra — fierrest(a) ; 
(neah),  near — near(r)a — niehst(a) ; 

(jer),  earlier — ierresta; 

(fore),  before — fur])ra — fyrest(a),  the  first. 

369.  forma,  first  (cf.  fore,  before);  hindema,  hindmost 
(cf.  hindan,  behind);  meduma,  average  (cf.  raixAA^  middle  of),  and 
other  similar  words,  were  originally  superlatives  formed  with  the 
suffix  -umo.  Many  of  these  words  have  acquired  thru  analogy 
the  ending  -est,  so  that  the  superlative  ending  appears  to  be 
-mest.     The  comparative,  when  it  occurs,  usually  ends  in  -erra. 

Most  of  the  adjectives  in  this  group  are  like  those  of  the 
preceding  group  in  that  they  are  formed  on  the  basis  of  prep- 
ositions and  adverbs,  and  that  no  positive  degree  exists. 

(aefter),  after  £ef terra  £eftemest(a) 

(east),  eastward  easterra  eastmest(a) 

(fore),  before  forma,  fyrmesta 

(hindan),  behind  hindema 


162 


REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 


(inne),  within 

innerra 

innemest(a) 

(laet),  late 

laetra 

laetemesta 

(midd),  middle 

meduma,  medema,  mld- 
mesta 

(niot>an),  below 

niberra 

iii(o)beme8t(a) 

(norj)),  northwards 

nor^erra,  nyr^ra 

1    norbmesta 

(8il>),  late 

si  bra 

sibemesta 

(suj)),  southwards 

suberra,  syberra 

I    submest(a) 

(ulan),  above 

uferra,  yferra 

ufemest(a),    yfemest(a) 

(ute),  without 

iiterra,  yterra 

ut(e)me8t(a),   yt(e)- 
mest(a) 

(west),  westward 

westerra 

Numerals 

westmesta 

370.    The  cardinal  and  ordinal 

numbers  in  OE  are  as 

follows: 

Cardinals 

Ordinals 

1.  an 

forma,  formesta,  fyrmest, 
fyrst,  sbtest 

2.  twe^en,  tu,  twa 

ober,  aef terra 

3.  |>rie,  brio,  J)reo 

bridda 

4.  fiower,  feower 

feowerba,  feorba 

5.  fif 

fifta 

6.  siex,  six 

siexta 

7.  siofon,  seofon 

seofoba,  seofeba 

8.  eahta 

eahtoba,  -eba,  -eoba 

9.  mgon 

nigoba,  -eba,  -eoba 

10.  tien,  tyn 

teoba 

11.  endlefan,  -leofan,  -lufan 

endlefta,  ellefta 

12.  twelf 

twelfta 

13.  breotiene,  -tene,  -tyne 

breoteoba 

14.  feowertiene 

feowerteoba 

15.  fiftiene 

lif  teoba 

DECLENSION— NUMERALS 


163 


16.  slextiene 

17.  seofontiene 

18.  eahtatiene 

19.  nigontiene 

20.  twentii 

21.  an  ond  twenti^ 
30.  britig 

40.  feowerti^ 

50.  fiftig 

60.  siexti^ 

70.  (hund)seofontI| 

80.  (hund)eahtatig 

90.  (hund)nigonti^ 
100.  hundteonti^,  hund,  hundred 
110.  hundendlefanti^, 
hundaellefti^ 
120.  hundtwelftii 
200.  twa  (tu)  hund 
1000.  busend 


siexteoba 

seofonteoba 

eahtateoba 

nigonteoba 

twentlgoba,  -tigba,  -tiga 

an  ond  twentigoba 

britigoba 

feowertigoba 

fiftigoba 

siextigoba 

(hund)  seof  ontigo  ba 

(hund)eahtigoba 

(hund)  nigontigo  ba 

hundteontigoba 

hundendlef  tigo  ba 

hundtwelftigoba 


Declension  of  Numerals 

371.  an,  one,  which  is  sometimes  a  numeral  and  sometimes 
an  adjective,  is  declined  with  the  endings  of  the  strong  declen- 
sion of  the  adjective;  the  Ace.  Sing.  Masc,  however,  occurs  in 
two  forms,  anne,  and  ^nne  (<*amna),  the  latter  occurring 
more  frequently.  The  Masc.-Neut.  Inst.  Sing,  is  ane  or  ane. 
Plural  forms  are  used  in  the  sense  of  only,  and  in  the  phrase 
anra  §ehwylc,  each  one.     ana,  declined  weak,  means  alone. 

372.  twe^en,  two,  is  declined  as  follows: 
Masculine  Feminine  Neuter 

N.A.     twe^en  twa  tu,  twa 

G.    twega,  twe^ra  twega,  twe^ra  twega,  twe^ra 


164  REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 

D.I.     twsem,  twam  twaem,  twam  twsem,    twam 

Like  twe^en  is  declined  be^en,  both;  Fern,  ba,  Neut.  bu, 
G.  begra,  D.  bsem,  bam. 

The  forms  of  the  N.-A.  are  used  almost  interchange- 
ably in  all  genders.  Thus  twa  is  feminine,  but  is  sometimes 
used  as  a  neuter,  sometimes  also  as  a  masculine.  With  two 
nouns  of  different  gender,  the  neuter  form  is  usually  employed. 

373.  l>rie,  three,  is  declined  as  follows: 

Masculine  Feminine  Neuter 

N.A.     J)rie,  l>ri  J)reo  I>reo 

G.     l)reora  ))reora  ]>reora 

D.I.     |>rim  l>rim  )>rim 

The  other  cardinal  numbers  are  generally  not  inflected. 
They  are  chiefly  used  either  as  indeclinable  adjectives  or  as 
nouns  governing  the  genitive;  for  example,  on  fif  dagum,  in 
five  days;  )>riti^  daga,  thirty  days. 

374.  The  ordinals,  except  o^er,  are  declined  like  weak 
adjectives.     oJ>er  is  declined  as  a  strong  adjective. 

Adverbs 

375.  Most  adverbs  in  OE  are  formed  from  adjectives,  or 
are  case  forms  of  adjectives  or  nouns  used  adverbially. 

1.  Adverbs  are  regularly  formed  from  adjectives  by  the 
ending  -e:  heard,  hard — hearde,  boldly.  If  the  adjective 
ends  in  -e,  the  adverb  is  identical  with  the  adjective;  blil^e, 
joyful — bli))e,  joyfully. 

2.  Many  adjectives  were  formed  from  nouns  by  the  addition 
of  the  suffix  -lie.  Thus  the  noun  freond,  friend,  was  the  basis 
of  the  adjective  freond-lic,  friendly.     From  such  adjectives 


ADVERBS  165 

were  formed  adverbs  by  the  addition  of  the  regular  adverbial 
ending  -e;  thus  freond-lic-e,  in  a  friendly  manner.  The  whole 
ending  -lic-e  then  came  to  be  felt  to  be  an  adverbial  ending, 
and  was  freely  attached  to  adjectives  also;  thus,  eornost, 
earnest,  was  made  into  an  adverb  eornostlice. 

3.  Adverbs  are  formed  from  adjectives  and  other  words  by 
means  of  the  suffixes  -unga,  -Inga; — eallunga,  entirely,  from 
call,  all;  holinga,  slanderously,  from  holian,  to  slander. 

4.  The  case  forms  of  adjectives  and  nouns  are  frequently 
used  adverbially. 

a.  Ace.  Sing.: 

eall,  altogether,  completely;  lytel,  lyt,  little;  ^enog,  enough; 
fyrn,  ^efyrn,  formerly;  full,  fully;  ealneg,  always  (<*ealne 
we§) ;  and  compounds  of  -weard,  originally  an  adjective: 
upweard,  upward;  norKe)weard,  northward;  and  nll>erweard, 
downward. 

b.  Gen.  Sing.: 

dae^es,  daily,  by  day;  or})ances,  heedlessly;  selfwilles, 
voluntarily.  This  -es  then  came  to  be  felt  to  be  an  adverbial 
ending,  and  was  added  to  feminines,  as  in  niedes,  needs,  of  neces- 
sity; nihtes,  nightly,  by  night.  The  Gen.  Sing,  used  adverbially 
was  also  combined  with  prepositions  as  in  to-sefenes,  till  even- 
ing; to-gifes,  freely,  gratis;  t5-middes,  amidst,  among. 

c.  Gen.  Plu. :  ^eara,  of  yore. 

d.  Dat.-Inst.  Sing.: 

lacne,  very;  sare,  sorely;  daei-hwam,  daily;  micle,  much. 

e.  Dat.-Inst.  Plu.,  especially  in  forms  with  -mselum: 
geardagum,  in  days  of  yore,  formerly;  hwil-tidum,  at  times; 
J)rymmum,  powerfully;  drop-maelum,  drop  by  drop;  stund- 
m^lum,  now  and  then;  stycce-mselum,  here  and  there,  piece- 
meal; miclum,  very;  lytlum,  little. 


166 


REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 


I.     The  chief  adverbs  of  place  are  the 

following: 

Rest 

Motion  towards 

Motion  from 

feorr(aii),  far 

feorr 

feorran 

foran,  before 

fore 

foran 

her,  here 

hider 

heonan 

hindan,  behind 

hinder 

hindan 

hw^r,  where 

hwider 

hwanon 

inne,  innan,  within 

iii(ii) 

innan 

neah,  near 

near 

nean 

iiiol>aii,  beneath 

niber 

nIo}>an 

Jjser,  there 

Hder 

))anan,  l>onan 

uppe,  up,  above 

op(p) 

uppan 

ute,  utan,  outside 

lit 

utan 

377.  The  suffix -an  was  added  to  other  adverbs  to  signify 
motion  from:  8iiJ>,  southwards,  sii}>an,  from  the  south;  eastan, 
nor)>an,  westan,  are  thus  formed. 

Comparison  of  Adverbs 

378.  The  comparative  of  adverbs  ends  in  -or;  8wi|>e, 
exceedingly,  swiJ>or;  ieorne,  eagerly,  ^eornor. 

The  superlative  ends  in  -est,  e.g.,  swiJ)ost,  §eornost. 

A  few  OE  adverbs  show  traces  of  the  comparative  in  -iz. 
These  are  monosyllables  and  can  be  recognised  as  comparatives 
only  by  the  umlaut.  Examples  are:  leng,  longer;  seft,  softer; 
bet  (<*batiz),  better.  These  adverbs  form  the  superlative  in 
-(e)8t:  lengest,  betst.  ser  (<*airiz),  earlier,  serest,  earliest, 
though  it  has  no  positive,  belongs  to  this  group. 


Verbs 

379.     OE,  like  the  other  Gmc  languages,  has  two  kinds  of 
verbs,  strong  and  weak. 


CONJUGATION  167 

The  strong  verbs  form  the  preterit  tense  and  the  past  par- 
ticiple by  means  of  a  change  of  the  radical  vowel  (ablaut), 
e.g.,  Pres.  Inf.  findan,  Pret.  Sing,  land,  Pret.  Plu.  fundon, 
Past  Participle,  funden. 

The  weak  verbs  form  their  preterit  by  means  of  a  suffix 
containing  d  or  t. 

The  intensive  and  perfective  prefix  |e-  sometimes  seems  to 
be  used  as  a  past  participial  prefix.  But  ^e-  is  prefixed  to  so 
many  verbs  in  the  present  and  preterit,  and  is  so  frequently 
lacking  in  the  past  participle,  that  it  cannot  be  regarded  as  a 
fixed  past  participial  prefix. 

380.  The  OE  verb  has  (in  addition  to  the  infinitive  and 
participles)  three  moods,  the  indicative,  the  subjunctive,  and 
the  imperative.  It  has  two  tenses,  the  present  and  the  preterit 
(or  past),  and  each  tense  has  two  numbers,  singular  and  plural. 

381.  To  some  extent  new  perfect  compound  tenses  appear 
in  OE ;  they  are  formed  by  a  combination  of  the  past  participle 
of  intransitive  verbs  with  wesan,  of  transitive  verbs  with 
habban: 

Dii  me  forliered  haefst,  Thou  hast  seduced  me. 

Nor})hymbre  end  Eastengle  haefdon  iSlfrede  cyninge  a]7as 
^eseald,  The  Northumbrians  and  East-Angles  had  given  oaths  to 
King  Alfred. 

Da  waes  fortJ  cumen  geoc  aefter  gyrne,  Then  was  come  forth 
comfort  after  grief. 

382.  The  OE  verb  has  no  special  form  for  the  passive  voice. 
For  this  voice  are  used  compound  forms  made  by  combining 
the  past  participle  with  been,  wesan,  or  weorl)an. 

Been  tJa  oferhydegan  ealle  ^escende,  May  the  proud  he 
confounded. 

l>aes  ^eares  w^run  ofslfeiene  nigon  eorlas,  That  year  were 
slain  nine  earls. 


168 


REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 


]>£es  ^eares  wurdon  nigon  folc^efeoht  ^efohten,  That  year 
nine  battles  were  fought. 

383.  The  principal  parts  of  a  strong  verb  are  the  Infinitive, 
the  Preterit  Indicative  1  Singular,  the  Preterit  Indicative 
Plural,  and  the  Past  Participle. 

The  principal  parts  of  a  weak  verb  are  the  Infinitive,  the 
Preterit  Indicative  1  Singular  and  the  Past  Participle. 

Strong  Verbs 

384.  In  OE,  as  in  the  other  Gmc  languages,  there  are  seven 
classes  of  strong  verbs  (frequently  called  "ablaut  series"), 
each  of  the  first  six  classes  being  marked  by  a  distinctive  series 
of  vowel  changes. 

Class  I 

385.  The  OE  ablaut  of  Class  I  was:  i;  a;i;i.  The  Prim 
Gmc  ablaut  was:  i;  ai;  i;  i.     Representative  verbs  are: 


bidan,  await 

bad 

bidon 

biden 

bitan,  bite 

bat 

biton 

biten 

drifan,  drive 

draf 

drifon 

drifen 

iewitan,  go 

iewat 

iewiton 

iewiten 

rldan,  ride 

rad 

ridon 

riden 

risan,  rise 

ras 

risen 

risen* 

stigan,  go 

stab 

stigon 

sti^en 

scinan,  shine 

scan 

scinon 

scinen 

386.     Verbs  showing  grammatical  change  (see  208-2 IC 

8mt$an,  cut 

sna'S, 

snidon, 

sniden. 

li'San,  go 

lat$, 

lidon, 

Hden. 

scrit$an,  go 

sera  9, 

scridon, 

scriden. 

*  risan  lacks  grammatical  change  in  the  Pret.  Plu.  and  Past  Part.    The 
8  has  been  levelled  from  the  first  two  fonns  into  the  last  two. 


CONJUGATION— STRONG  VERBS 


169 


387.       Contract  Verbs: 

teon  (<*tihan),  censure 
|>eon  (<*Hhan),  thrive 
wreon  (<*wrihan),  cover 


tah,        tigon,       ti^en^ 
l^ah,        bigon,      ))i^eii.^ 
wrah,     wrigon,    wriien.^ 


Class  II 
388.    The  OE  ablaut  of  Class  II  was:  eo  (u);  ea;  u;  o. 
The  Prim  Gmc  ablaut  was:  eu  (u) ;  au;  u;  u.     Representative 
verbs  are: 


beodan,  command 

bead 

budon 

boden 

ceowan,  chew 

ceaw 

cuwon 

cowen 

creopan,  creep 

creap 

crupon 

cropen 

dreogan,  endure 

dreag 

drugon 

drogen 

ieotan,  pour 

ieat 

guton 

goten 

sceotan,  shoot 

sceat 

scuton 

scoten 

389.     Verbs  with 

u  in  the  present:' 

brucan,  enjoy 

breac 

brucon 

brocen 

bugan,  bow 

beag 

bugon 

bogen 

lucan,  lock 

leac 

lucon 

locen 

lutan,  bow 

leat 

luton 

loten 

scufan,  shove 

sceaf 

scufon 

scofen 

390.     Verbs  with  Grammatical  Change: 

ceosan,  choose 

ceas 

curon 

coren 

freosan,  freeze 

freas 

fruron 

froren 

seotJan,  boil 

sea's 

sudon 

soden 

dreosan,  fall 

dreas 

druron 

droren 

leosan,  lose 

leas 

luron 

loren 

*  These  verbs  also  form  their  principal  parts  according  to  Class  II :  teon, 
teah,  tugon,  togen;  )>eon,  |>eah,  |7ugon,  )>ogen;  wreon,  wreah,  wrugon,  wrogen. 
|>eon  also  has  some  parts  formed  according  to  Class  III:  Pret.  Plur.  ]7ungon. 
Past  Part.  ];ungen;  see  note  93,  Chapter  XXIV. 

•  Verbs  with  u  belong  to  a  class  called  "aorist  presents." 


170 


REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 


391.     Contract  Verbs: 

teon  (<*teohan),  draw     teah 
fleon  (<*fleohan),/ee      fleah 


tugon 
flugon 


togen 
flogen 


Class  III 


392.  The  Prim  Gmc  ablaut  of  Class  III  was:  e;  a;  u;  u. 
Strong  verbs  of  Class  III  have  a  radical  syllable  ending  in  two 
consonants,  of  which  the  first  is  nearly  always  a  nasal  (m,  n) 
or  a  liquid  (1,  r) ;  they  fall  into  four  sub-classes : 

393.  (1)  Verbs  with  radical  syllable  ending  in  nasal  plus 
consonant: 


bindan,  hind 
drincan,  drink 
^ellmpan,  happen 

irnan,  run 


band  (bond)     bundon  bunden 

dranc  (drone)  druncon  druncen 

^elamp  ^elumpon  |elumpen 

(gelomp) 

arn  (orn)  urnon  urnen'^ 


on^innan,  begin         ongann  ongunnon  ongunnen 

(ongonn) 

singan,  sing  sang  (song)  sungon  sungen 

swimman,  swim         swamm  swummon  swummen 

(swomm) 

winnan,  strive  wann  (wonn)  wunnon  wunnen 

394.     (2)  Verbs  with  radical  syllable  ending  in  1  plus  con- 
sonant: 


delfan,  dig 

dealf 

dulfon 

dolfen 

^ieldan,  yield 

^eald 

guidon 

golden 

^iellan,  yell 

ieaU 

gullon 

goUen 

'  In  Gmc  this  verb  was  "'rimian,  *raiui,  *niimun,  "'nuuianaz.  In  Prehist 
OE  occurred  metathesis  (transposition)  of  the  t,  resulting  in  OE  irnan,  am, 
amon,  umen. 


CONJUGATION— STRONG  VERBS 


171 


^ielpan,  boast 

iealp 

gulpon 

golpen 

helpan,  help 

healp 

hulpon 

holpen 

meltan,  melt 

mealt 

multon 

molten 

melcan,  milk 

mealc 

mulcon 

molcen 

swelgan,  swell 

swealg 

swulgon 

swolgen 

395.     Contract  Verb: 

feolan    (<*felhan), 

fealh 

fulgon 

folen« 

pierce 

(fJelon«) 

396.     (3)  Verbs  with  radical 

syllable  ending  in  r  or  h  plus 

consonant: 

ceorfan,  carve 

cearf 

curfon 

corfen 

f  eohtan,  fight 

feaht 

fuhton 

fohten 

hweorfan,  turn 

hwearf 

hwurfon 

hworfen 

weorpan,  cast 

wearp 

wurpon 

worpen 

397.     With  Grammatical  Change: 


weor'San,  become        weartJ 

398.     (4)  Other  Verbs: 
bregdan,  move  braegd 


wurdon 


worden 


brugdon        brogden 


swiftly 

berstan,^"  burst 

baerstio 

burston 

■    borsten 

fri^nan,  inquire, 

fr£e§n 

frugnon 

frugnen 

ascertain 

'  Pret.  Plu.  ixlon  is  due  to  analogy  with  fourth  ablaut  series  forms  like 
8t£lon. 

'  Past  Part,  folen,  instead  of  '"folgen,  is  due  to  an  early  levelling  of  h  from 
Pres.  and  Pret.  Sing.  *foUien  then  became  folen. 

"In  Gmc  this  verb  was  *brestan,  *brast,  *brustun,  *brustanaz;  *brast 
became  OE  brsest;  after  the  period  of  Breaking,  occurred  metathesis  of  r, 
resulting  in  OE  berstan,  bterst,  etc. 


172 

REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 

murnan,^^  mourn 

mearn               murnon 

spurnan," 

spearn              spurnon 

tread  down 

Class  IV 

spornen 


399.  The  Prim  Gmc  ablaut   of  Class  IV  was:  e;  a;  a;  u. 
Strong  verbs  of  Class  IV  have  stems  ending  in  a  single 

consonant,  nearly  always  a  liquid  (1,  r)  or  a  nasal. 

Representative  verbs  are: 
beran,  bear  baer  b^ron  boren 

scleran,  shear  scear  scearon  scoren 

stelan,  steal  stael  stielon  stolen 

400.  One  verb  originally  belonged  to  Class  V: 
brecan,  break  braec  brsecon  brocen 

401.  Two  verbs  had  a  radical  syllable  ending  in  a  nasal: 
niman,^^  seize^  take     nam  nomon  numen 

(n5m)  (namon) 

cuman,^^  come  com  comon  cumen 

(cw5m)  (cwomon)      (cymen) 

"  muman  and  spurnan  are  "aorist  present"  verbs. 

^  The  i  of  niman  is  due  to  the  OE  change  of  WGmc  e  to  i  if  followed  by  m 
(see  226).  The  6  of  nSmon  is  due  to  the  development  of  WGmc  a  to  5  if  fol- 
lowed by  a  nasal  (see  230);  nom  has  o  by  analogy  with  n5mon.  The  WGmc 
Past  Part  *nomanz  became  OE  numen  (see  228). 

"  cuman  appeared  in  Gmc  as  ""cweman  and  as  *cwuman,  the  latter  form 
being  an  "aorist  present."  In  WGmc  w  disappeared  if  preceded  by  a  con- 
sonant and  followed  by  u  or  o.  Gmc  *cwuman  therefore  became  OE  cuman. 
Pret.  Plu.  c5mon  (<*cwomon)  has  5  from  WGmc  a  (see  226).  com  has  o 
by  analogy  with  comon.  The  Past  Part,  cumen  was  from  WGmc  "^komanz 
(see  228).  The  Past  Part,  cymen  developed  from  a  form  *cuminj6  (an  alterna- 
tive Gmc  and  WGmc  Past  Part,  ending  *-inz  existed  beside  *-anz). 


CONJUGATION— STRONG  VERBS 


173 


Class  V 


402.     The  Prim  Gmc  ablaut 
It  should  be  observed  that  this  is 
except  in  the  past  participle. 

Strong  verbs  of  Class  V  have 
sonant  which  is  neither  a  liquid 


of  Class  V  was:  e;  a;  je;  c. 
the  same  as  that  of  Class  IV 

stems  ending  in  a  single  Con- 
nor a  nasal.     Representative 


verbs  are: 

metan,  measure 

mset 

m^ton 

meten 

^iefan,  give 

geaf 

geafon 

giefen 

^ietan,  get 

geat 

geaton 

iieten 

specan,  speak 

spaec 

spiecon 

specen 

sprecan,  speak 

spraec 

spr^con 

sprecen 

swefan,  sleep 

swaef 

swjefon 

swefen 

tredan,  tread 

traed 

trsedon 

treden 

wegan,  carry 

wae| 

wjegon 

we§en 

403.  Two  verbs  with  irregular  Pret.  Sing.: 
etan,  eat  &t  aeton  eten 
fretan,  devour             irxt                  fr^ton           freten 

404.  With  grammatical  change: 


cwel>an,  say               cwaej) 

cweedon 

cweden 

405.     Contract  verbs: 

iefeon  (<*^efe-       gefeah 

gefsegon 

gefae^ei 

han),  rejoice 

pleon  (<*plehan),     pleah 

adventure 

seon"  (<*sehan),  see  seah 

sawon 

sewen 

(sJegon) 

(segen) 

"This  verb  comes  from  Gmc  *sehwan,  *sahw,  *8Jeswun,  *se5wanz.  In 
WGmc  *saswun,  sometimes  g,  sometimes  w  disappeared,  giving  OFris  segin; 
OS  sawon;  OE  ssegon  and  sawon.  Similarly  the  WGmc  Past  Part.  *seswanz 
gave  OE  se^en  and  sewen. 


174  REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 

406.    j-presents  (see  Chapter  XIX): 


biddan,  ask 

b<ed 

biedon 

beden 

licgan,  lie 

hti 

liegon 

legen 

sittan,  sii 

siet 

sieton 

seten 

Class  VI 

407.     The  Prim  Gmc  ablaut  of  Class  VI 

was:  a;  o;  5;  a. 

Representative  verbs  are: 

dragan,  draw 

drog 

drogon 

dragen 

faran,  go 

for 

foron 

faren    (faeren) 

hladan,  lade 

Uod 

hlodon 

hladen 

scacan, shake 

scoc 

scocon 

scacen 

scafan,  shave 

scof 

scofon 

scafen 

spanan,  seduce 

spon 

sponon 

spanen 

(spannan) 

(speon)^^ 

(speonon) 

(spannen) 

standaii,^^  stand 

stod 

stodon 

standen 

wascan,  wash 

wosc 

woscon 

wascen 

weaxan,  grow 

wox 

woxon 

weaxen 

(weox)^ 

(weoxon) 

408.     Contract  Verbs: 

slean  (<'''slahaii), 

sloh 

slogon 

slagen   (slae- 

strike 

(slog) 

gen,    slegen)^' 

lean  (<*lahaii), 

loh 

logon 

lagen    (Ise^en, 

blame 

Gog) 

le^en)i7 

flean  (<*flahaii), 

fl5h 

fl5gon 

flagen 

flay 

(flog) 

"  weaxan  and  spannan  form  preterits  weox,  speon  by  analogy  with  verbs 
of  Class  VII. 

"  standan  has  a  "nasal  infix"  in  the  Pres.  and  Past  Part. 

"  sleien,  le^en,  scepen,  are  due  to  Prehist  OE  forms  like  ^sla^z,  etc. 
Cf.  note  13,  cymen. 


CONJUGATION— STRONG  VERBS 


175 


409.    j-presents: 

hebban,  heave  hof 

steppan,  step  stop 

swerian,  swear  swor 

scieppan,  create  scop 


hllehhan,  laugh 
sce})]>an,  injure 


hloh 
scod^^ 


hofon 

stopon 

sworon 

scopon 

hl5goii 
scodon 


hafen   (haefen) 

stapen 

swaren 

(sworen)^' 

scapen 

(scepen)" 


Class  VII 


410.  Verbs  of  the  seventh  class  are  commonly  called 
"reduplicating"  because  in  Gothic  their  preterits  were  formed 
by  prefixing  to  the  preterit  stem  a  syllable  consisting  of  the 
initial  consonant  plus  e  (in  Goth  spelled  ai):  Goth  slepan — 
saislep,  sleep — slept;  letan — lailot,  permit — permitted.  In  all 
other  Gmc  languages,  however,  this  reduplicating  preterit  has 
almost  completely  disappeared,  leaving  only  a  few  traces:  e.g., 
in  OE,  chiefly  in  poetry,  occur  occasionally: 

heht,  Pret.  Sing,  of  hatan,  beside  usual  het. 

reord,  Pret.  Sing,  of  r^edan,  beside  usual  riedde,  red. 

leolc,  Pret.  Sing,  of  lacan,  beside  usual  lee. 

leort,  Pret.  Sing,  of  l^tan,  beside  usual  let. 

dreord,  Pret.  Sing,  of  driedan  beside  usual  dradde,  dred. 

In  OE,  as  in  the  Old  Norse,  Old  Saxon,  and  Old  High  Ger- 
man, the  usual  preterit  of  these  so-called  "reduplicating" 
verbs  is  an  ablaut  tense  form. 

411.  Reduplication  was  an  important  method  of  tense 
formation  in  the  older  Indo-European  languages.  In  Greek 
and  Sanscrit  the  perfect  was  almost  always  a  reduplicating 


"  sworen  is  due  to  analogy  with  boren,  etc. 

i»  scod  has  -d  by  analogy  with  Pret.  Plu.  scodon. 


176 


REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 


tense.  In  Latin  many  verbs  retain  reduplication  in  their  per- 
fect. Thus  Latin  dare,  canere,  and  cadere  have  as  their 
perfects  dedi,  cecini,  and  cecidi.  In  Greek,  Sanscrit,  and  pre- 
historic Latin,  however,  there  was  another  very  important 
past  tense  called  the  aorist,  which  did  not  have  reduplication 
and  which  seems  to  have  been  one  of  the  possible  ancestors  of 
the  OE  ablauting  preterit.  In  the  case  of  these  so-called 
reduplicating  verbs,  the  Germanic  languages  seem  originally 
to  have  had  two  preterit  tenses,  one  based  on  the  non-redup- 
licating aorist,  the  other  on  the  reduplicating  perfect.  In 
Gothic  the  reduplicating  perfect  completely  supplanted  the 
aorist.  In  the  West  and  North  Germanic  languages  the  non- 
reduplicating  aorist  almost  completely  supplanted  the  redup- 
licating perfect.  This  explanation  avoids  the  utterly  impossible 
theory  that  OE  cneow,  knew,  (for  example)  developed  from 
such  a  form  as  *cne-cnaw  by  the  loss  of  medial  -en-  and  the 
consequent  contraction  of  the  vowels. 

412.  The  infinitive  and  present  of  verbs  of  Class  VII  have 
as  their  stem  vowel  a,  a  (o)  followed  by  a  nasal,  ea,  ea,  «,  o,  e, 
and  the  preterit  has  either  e  or  eo.  The  verbs  are  divided  into 
two  sub-classes  on  the  basis  of  the  preterit  vowel. 

413.  (1)  Verbs  with  e  in  preterit.     Representative  verbs 


are; 

hatan,  call 

het 

heton 

haten 

blandan,  blend 

blend 

blendon 

blanden 

driedan,  dread 

dred 

dredon 

drieden 

(drjedde^o) 

(dr^ddon) 

Isetan,  permit 

let 

leton 

Ijeten 

T&daiiy  advise 

red 

re  don 

isbden 

(rsedde^o) 

(rseddon) 

sliepan,  sleep 

slep2i 

slepon 

slsepen 

>>  radan  and  dx&dan  usually  have  weak  preterits. 
B  slepan  occasionally  has  a  weak  preterit,  sUepte. 


CONJUGATION— STRONG  VERBS 


177 


414.     Contract  Verbs: 


fon  (<Prim  Gmc 

feng 

lengon 

fangen 

*fanhanan),  seize 

hon  (<Prim  Gmc 

heng 

hengon 

hangen 

*hanhanan),  hang 

415.     (2)  Verbs  with  eo  in  preterit.     Repr 

esentative 

are: 
beatan,  beat 

beot 

beoton 

beaten 

heawan,  hew 

heow 

heowon 

heawen 

hleapan,  run 

hleop 

hleopon 

hleapen 

blawan,  blow 

bleow 

bleowon 

blawen 

cnawan,  know 

cneow 

cneowon 

cnawen 

sawan,  sow 

seow 

seowon 

sawen 

gangan,  go 

ieong 

^eongon 

gangen 

fealdan,  fold 

feold 

feoldon 

fealden 

feallan,  fall 

feoll 

feoUon 

feallen 

healdan,  hold 

heold 

heoldon 

healden 

wealdan,  rule 

weold 

weoldon 

wealden 

blowan,  bloom 

bleow 

bleowon 

blowen 

flowan,  flow 

fleow 

fleowon 

flowen 

growan,  grow 

greow 

greowon 

growen 

416.     j-presents 

: 

wepan  (<*wopjan), 

weop 

weopon 

w5pen 

weep 

hwesan  (<*hwos- 

hweos 

hweoson 

hwosen 

jan),  wheeze 

Strong  Verbs- 

-Paradigms 

417.  The  full  conjugation  of  the  strong  verbs,  exemplified 
by  bidan,  await,  beodan,  command,  and  beran,  bear,  is  as 
follows : 


178 


REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 


INDICATIVE 

Present 

Sing.  1         bide 

beode 

bere 

2         bitst,  bidest 

bietst,  beodest 

birst, 
berest 

3         bit(t),  bidel> 

biet(t),  beode]> 

birj>, 
berel> 

Plu.  1,  2,  3  bidaj) 

beoda)> 

Preterit 

het&\f 

Sing.  1          bad 

bead 

baer 

2         bide 

bude 

bare 

3         bad 

bead 

bar 

Plu.  1,  2,  3  bidon 

budon 

baron 

SUBJUNCTIVE 

Present 

Sing.  1,  2,  3  bide 

beode 

bere 

Plu.    1,  2,  3  biden 

beoden 

Preterit 

•  beren 

Sing.  1,  2,  3  bide 

bade 

bare 

Plu.   1,  2,  3  biden 

buden 

baren 

IMPERATIVE 

Present 

Sing.  2         bid 

beod 

ber 

Plu.   1          bidan 

beodan 

beran 

2         bidal^ 

beoda}) 

beral> 

Infinitive     bidan 

beodan 

beran 

Gerund        t5  bidenne, 

to  beodenne, 

to  berenne, 

-anne 

-anne 

-anne 

Pres.  Part,  bidende 

beodende 

berende 

Past  Part,    biden 

boden 

boren 

CONJUGATION— STRONG  VERBS  179 

Personal  Endings  of  Strong  (and  of  First  Weak)  Verbs 

Present  Indicative 

418.  1st  Sing,  was  Gmc  -o.  This  became  OE  -u,  which 
sometimes  appears  in  the  earliest  MSS.  After  800  the  usual 
ending  is  -e,  probably  from  the  Subjunc.  1st  Sing. 

2d  Sing,  was  Gmc  -is.  The  -i-  produced  umlaut  of  the 
radical  vowel,  after  which  the  vowel  of  the  ending  weakened, 
and  the  ending  became  -es.  The  -t  of  -es-t  came  from  the 
frequent  juncture  with  the  postpositive  subject  -Jju,  giving 
*-es|?ii>  *-estii>  -est. 

In  strong  verbs  (and  long-stemmed  first  weak  verbs)  the 
-e-  is  usually  syncopated  in  EWS,  giving  the  ending  -st  (see 
259.  1). 

3d  Sing,  was  Gmc  -\\>.  After  producing  umlaut  the  ending 
became  -ej>.  In  strong  verbs  (and  long-stemmed  first  weak 
verbs)  the  -e-  is  usually  syncopated  in  EWS,  giving  -\>  (see 
259.  1). 

The  Plu.  ending  was  originally  the  Gmc  3d  Plu.  -anl>,  which 
became  OE  ~a\>.  This  ending  was  extended  by  analogy  to  the 
1st  and  2nd  Plu. 

Plu.  Indie,  forms  such  as  bide,  beode,  here,  etc.,  occur 
when  the  subject  is  the  1st  or  2d  personal  pronoun  we,  ^e,  wit, 
§it,  if  the  pronoun  follows  the  verb :  bide  we,  beode  ^e. 

Present  Subjunctive 

In  the  Sing,  the  Prim  Gmc  endings  all  became  OE  -e.  In 
the  Plu.,  the  regularly  developed  ending  of  the  3d  person,  -en, 
was  extended  to  the  1st  and  2d  persons. 

Preterit  Indicative 

The  1st  and  3d  Sing.  IE  endings  were  lost  in  Prim  Gmc. 
The  2d  Sing,  forms  bide,  bude,  bsere,  etc.,  may  be  from  the 
Subjunc. 


180  REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 

Gmc  3d  Plu.  -un  became  OE  -on.  As  in  the  Pres.  Indie, 
the  ending  of  the  3d  person  was  extended  by  analogy  to  the  1st 
and  2d  persons  plural. 

Forms  like  Pres.  Plu.  Indie,  bide  we,  etc.,  occur  in  the 
Pret.  also,  but  rarely:  bide  we,  bude  we,  bjere  we. 

Imperative 

The  1st  Plu.  -an  is  of  obscure  origin.  The  form  is  used  as 
a  hortative.     It  is  usually  supplanted  by  the  Subjunc.  -en. 

Gerund 

The  Gerund  was  originally  the  Dat.  of  the  Infin.,  Gmc 
*-anjai,  which  became  OE  -enne.  The  ending  -anne  has  -a- 
by  analogy  with  the  Infin.  -an. 

Conjugation  of  Contract  Verbs 

419.  The  contract  verbs,  exemplified  by  teon,  draWy  seen, 
see,  slean,  strike,  and  fon,  seize,  are  conjugated  in  the  Pres. 
Indie,  Subjunc,  and  Imper.  as  follows: 


INDICATIVE 

Pres.  Sing.  1 

teo 

seo 

slea 

fo 

2 

tiehst 

siehst 

sliehst 

fehst 

3 

tieh]7 

sieh]> 

slieh}) 

feh}> 

Plu.  1, 

2, 

3  teoj) 

seol> 

slea}? 

f5]> 

SUBJUNCTIVE 

Pres.  Sing.  1, 

2, 

3  teo 

seo 

slea 

fo 

Plu.    1, 

2, 

3  teon 

seon 

slean 

fon 

CONJUGATION— STRONG  VERBS  181 


IMPERATIVE 

Pres.  Sing.  2 

teoh 

seoh 

sleah 

foh 

Plu.    1 

teon 

seon 

slean 

Ion 

2 

teo]> 

seo]> 

sleal^ 

fo}> 

Infinitive 

teon 

seon 

slean 

fon 

Gerund 

to  teonne 

t5  seonne 

to  sleanne 

tof 

For  explanations  of  these  forms,  see  Chapter  XXIV. 

420.  The  forms  of  the  Pres.  Indie.  2d  and  3d  Sing,  of  other 
contract  verbs  are  as  follows: 

Class  I:  l>eon:  Hehst,  Hehl>;  wreon:  wriehst,  wriehl>. 

Class  II:  fleon:  fliehst,  fliehl>. 

Class  III:  feolan:  fielhst,  fielh}). 

Class  V:  feon:  fiehst,  fiehl>. 

Class  VI:  bwean:  Jjwiehst,  |>wieh|). 

Class  VII:  Hon:  hehst,  heh]). 

Syncopation  and  Assimilation  in  Strong  Verbs 

421.  In  the  1st  and  2d  Sing.  Pres.  Indie,  of  strong  verbs 
the  vowel  of  the  endings  -est,  -e|),  is  often  syncopated,  and  a 
final  d,  t,  1>,  or  g  of  the  radical  syllable  is  assimilated,  the 
resulting  combination  often  being  further  simplified.  Before 
syncopation  took  place,  umlaut  of  the  radical  vowel,  whenever 
it  was  capable  of  umlaut,  had  already  occurred.  But  as  the 
result  of  analogy,  syncopated  forms  without  umlaut  and 
unsyncopated  forms,  both  with  and  without  umlaut,  were 
developed.  In  WS  the  syncopated  forms  with  umlaut  are  the 
prevailing  ones. 

Verb  2d  Sing.  3d  Sing. 

bidan  (I)  await  bitst,  bidest  bit(t),  bidet> 

stigan  (I)  go  stihst,  sti^est  stih|>,  stige}^ 

beodan  (II)  command  bietst,  beodest  biet(t),  beode]? 

ceosan  (II)  choose  ciest,  ceosest  ciest,    ceosel) 


182 


REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 


bindan  (III)  bind 
helpan  (III)  help 
weor]>an  (III)  become 
weorpan  (III)  cast 
beran  (IV)  bear 
cuman  (IV)  come 
ctan  (V)  eat 
cvre\>an  (V)  say 
biddan  (V)  ask 
faran  (VI)  go 
standan  (VI)  stand 
hatan  (VII)  command 
healdan  (VII)  hold 
feallan  (VII)  fall 
teon  (I)  blame 
teon  (II)  draw 
seon  (V)  see 
slean  (VI)  strike 
ion  (VII)  seize 


bintst,  bindest 
hilpst,  helpest 
wierst,  weor|>est 
wierpst,  weorpest 
birst,  berest 
cymst,  cumest 
itst,  etest 
cwist,  cwe]>e8t 
bitst,  bidest 
faerst,  faerest 
stentst,  standest 
hsetst,  hatest 
hieltst,  healdest 
fielst,  feallest 
tiehst 
tiehst 
siehst 
sllehst 
fehst 


bint,  bmdel> 
hilp);,   helpel) 
wier|>,  weor|)el) 
wierpl?,  weorpej) 
birj),  bereb 
cyml?,  cume}) 
it(t),  etej) 
cwij),  cwel>e|) 
bit(t),  bide]? 
faert,  faerel) 
stent,   stande}> 
hat(t),  hatej> 
hielt,  healde]) 
fiel]>,  fealleb 
tieh^ 
tieht> 
siehl) 
slieh)) 
fehl> 


422.    In  the  Syncopated  forms: 

1.  A  double  consonant  at  the  end  of  the  radical  syllable  is 
simplified:  feallan,  fielst,  fiel]). 

2.  d  before  st  becomes  t :  bidan,  bitst. 

3.  d  before  |>  becomes  t,  l>  becomes  t,  and  tt  is  simplified: 
bidan,  bit. 

4.  t  before  ]>  assimilates  J>  to  t,  and  tt  is  simplified:  etan,  it. 

5.  g  before  st  or  \>  becomes  h:  stigan,  stihst,  stih];. 

6.  1>  before  st  usually  disappears,  but  may  become  t,  or  may 
be  restored:  cwe)>an,  cwist;  sm})an,  snitst,  snij^st. 

7.  J)  before  J)  is  simplified:  ewe  ban,  cwi|>. 

8.  s  before  st  is  simplified:  ceosan,  ciest  (2d). 

9.  8  before  b  gives  st:  ceosan,  ciest  (3d). 


CONJUGATION— WEAK  VERBS 

Weak  Verbs 


183 


423.  Three  classes  of  weak  verbs  are  to  be  distinguished 
inOE. 

1.  Weak  verbs  of  the  first  class  had  a  prehistoric  suffix  con- 
taining -j-  or  -i-.     Cf.  Chapter  XVIII. 

2.  Weak  verbs  of  the  second  class  had  a  prehistoric  suffix 
containing  -6j-  or  -o-. 

3.  Weak  verbs  of  the  third  class  had  a  prehistoric  suffix 
containing  -ai-. 

First  Weak  Verbs 

424.  Typical  first  weak  verbs  are  conjugated  as  follows: 
fremman,  make;  demsLn^  judge ;  nerian,  save. 


INDICATIVE 

Present 

Sing.  1          fremme 

deme 

nerie 

2         fremest 

demst,  demest 

nerest 

3         fremel> 

dem);,  deme}) 

nerel) 

Plu.  1,  2,  3  fremma}) 

dema]> 

Preterit 

neria]> 

Sing.  1,  3     fremede 

demde 

nerede 

2         fremedest 

demdest 

neredest 

Plu.  1,  2,  3  fremedon 

demdon 
SUBJUNCTIVE 

Present 

neredon 

Sing.             fremme 

deme 

nerie 

Plu.               fremmen 

demen 

Preterit 

nerien 

Sing.             fremede 

demde 

nerede 

Plu.              fremeden 

demden 

nereden 

184 


REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 


IMPERATIVE 

Present 

Sing.  2 

freme 

dem 

nere 

Plu.    1 

fremman 

deman 

nerian 

2 

fremma}> 

demab 

nena)> 

Infin. 

fremman 

deman 

nerian 

Gerund 

t5  fremmenne, 

to  demenne, 

t5  nerienne, 

-anne 

-anne 

-anne 

Pres.  Part. 

fremmende 

demende 

neriende 

Past.  Part. 

fremed 

demed 

nered 

425.  First  weak  verbs  had  in  Prim  Gmc  a  prehistoric 
sufi&x  which  occurred  sometimes  in  the  form  j,  sometimes  in  the 
form  i.  In  the  Gmc  forms  from  which  the  OE  forms  were 
derived  j  occurred  in  the  Pres.  Indie.  1st  Sing.,  the  Pres.  Indie. 
Plu.,  the  Pres.  Subjunc.  Sing,  and  Plu.,  the  Imper.  Plu.,  the 
Infin.,  Ger.,  and  Pres.  Part.;  i  occurred  in  the  Pres.  Indie.  2d 
and  3d  Sing.,  the  Pret.  Indie,  and  Subjunc,  the  Imper.  Sing., 
and  the  Past  Part.  Both  j  and  i  umlauted  the  vowel  of  the 
radical  syllable.  Wherever  j  occurred  the  final  consonant 
(except  r)  of  an  originally  short  radical  syllable  was  geminated. 
i,  however,  tho  causing  umlaut,  did  not  cause  gemination.  For 
a  detailed  presentation,  see  Chapters  XVII,  XVIII. 

426.  A  distinction  is  to  be  made  between  verbs  with  an 
originally  short  radical  syllable  like  fremman,  nerian  (<Gmc 
*fram-jan,  *naz-jan),  and  those  with  an  originally  long  radical 
syllable,  like  deman  (<Gmc  *dom-jan). 

1.  Verbs  with  originally  short  stems  form  their  preterit 
indicative  first  person  singular  by  means  of  the  ending  -ede, 
and  their  past  participle  by  means  of  the  ending  -ed.     The 
principal  parts  of  representative  verbs  are  as  follows: 
fremman,  make  fremede  fremed 

nerian,  save  nerede  nered 


CONJUGATION— WEAK  VERBS 


185 


2.  Verbs  with  originally  long  stems  form  the  preterit 
indicative  first  person  singular  by  means  of  the  ending  -de  or 
-te;  that  is,  the  middle  vowel  -e- is  syncopated.  They  form 
the  past  participle  by  means  of  the  ending  -ed.  When  the 
stem  of  the  verb  ends  in  a  voiced  consonant,  the  ending  is  -de; 
but  when  the  stem  ends  in  a  voiceless  consonant,  the  ending 
is  -te.     Representative  verbs  are: 


deman,  judge 

demde 

demed 

cemban,  comb 

cembde 

cembed 

aernan,  gallop 

sernde 

£erned 

cepan,  keep 

cepte 

ceped 

scierpan,  sharpen 

scierpte 

scierped 

adwsescan,  quench 

adwiescte 

adwasced 

fyllan,  fill 

fylde 

fylled 

Verbs  whose  stems  end  in  d  or  t  always  syncopate  the  middle 
vowel  of  the  preterit  ending,  no  matter  whether  the  stem  was 
originally  long  or  originally  short,  so  that  the  ending  becomes 
-de  or  -te.  The  vowel  of  the  ending  of  the  past  participle  may 
also  be  syncopated,  so  that  it  becomes  -dd  or  -tt  instead  of  -ed. 
Representative  verbs  are: 


hreddan,  save 

hredde 

hreded,  hred(d) 

settan,  set 

sette 

seted,  set(t) 

leedan,  lead 

l^edde 

lieded,  l£ed(d) 

metan,  meet 

mette 

meted,  met(t) 

Verbs  whose  stems  end  in  d  or  t  preceded  by  another  consonant 
have  only  a  single  d  or  t  in  the  preterit  and  in  the  syncopated 
form  of  the  past  participle.     Examples  are: 


wendan,  turn  wende 

fasstan,  make  fast        faeste 


wended,  wend 
faested,  faest 


186  REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 

427.    The  preterits  and  past  participles  of  verbs  of  several 
types  require  special  attention.     The  principal  parts  are: 


nemnan,  name 

nemde 

nemned,  nemd 

hyngran,  hunger 

hyngrede 

hyngred 

biecnan,  make  a  sign 

biecnede 

biecned 

die^lan,  conceal 

die^lede 

die^Ied 

^ierwan,  prepare 

iierede 

iier(w)ed 

lecgan,  lay 

legide 

leid 

nemde,  nemd  show  syncopation  after  the  long  radical 
syllable  nemn- ;  n  disappeared  between  m  and  d  thru  "phonetic 
economy." 

hyngrede,  hyngred  (and  biecnede,  die^lede,  etc.)  retain  the 
middle  vowel  because  the  long  radical  syllable  plus  r,  n,  or  1 
phonetically  required  a  vowel  betwee'n  r,  n,  or  1  and  d. 

^ierede,  ^lered,  show  the  regular  disappearance  of  w  before 
e  (<i);  w  was  sometimes  restored  by  analogy  with  the  forms 
where  it  was  retained. 

le^de,  le^d,  though  the  radical  syllable  is  short,  show  synco- 
pation. 

Syncopation  and  Assimilation  in  First  Weak  Verbs 

428.  Syncopation,  and  the  frequent  assimilation  and 
simplification  of  resultant  consonant  combinations,  occurred 
under  certain  circumstances  in  the  2d  and  3d  Sing.  Pres.  Indie, 
and  in  the  Pret.  and  Past  Part,  of  many  first  weak  verbs. 

429.  I.  In  the  2d  and  3d  Sing.  Pres.  Indie,  syncopation 
occurred  in  EWS  in  verbs  with  originally  long  radical  syllables, 
providing  the  consonant  combination  which  would  result  was 
capable  of  being  pronounced.  Thus  demst,  dem]>,  cepst, 
cep]>,  metst.  After  syncopation,  the  final  consonant  of  the 
radical  syllable  was  often  assimilated  to  that  of  the  ending, 
or  the  consonant  of  the  ending  to  that  of  the  radical  syllable. 
(See  418,  422,  259,  260.) 

1.  A  double  consonant  at  the  end  of  the  radical  syllable  is 
simplified:  fyllan,  fylst,  fyl}>. 


CONJUGATION— WEAK  VERBS  187 

2.  d  before  st  becomes  t:  Isedan,  Isbtst  (2d). 

3.  d  before  ])  gives  tt,  and  tt  is  simplified:  liedan,  laet  (3d). 

4.  I>  after  t  is  assimilated  to  t,  and  tt  is  simplified:  metan, 
mSt  (3d). 

5.  8(s)  before  st  is  simplified:  cyssan,  cyst  (2d). 

6.  s  before  \>  gives  st:  cyssan,  cyst  (3d). 

7.  st  before  st  gives  st:  faestan,  faest  (2d). 

But  in  all  verbs  with  long  radical  syllables  we  find  frequently 
the  endings  -est,  -e|>,  levelled  by  analogy  from  verbs  with 
originally  short  radical  syllables. 

Verbs  like  hyngran,  hunger,  timbran,  build,  efnan,  level, 
se^lan,  sail,  which  have  a  radical  syllable  ending  in  a  voiced 
consonant  plus  a  liquid  or  nasal,  do  not  exhibit  syncopation. 

430.  II.  In  the  preterit,  syncopation  of  the  vowel  -e- 
(<i)  of  the  ending  occurs  in  most  verbs  with  originally  long 
radical  syllables:  deman,  demde,  cemban,  cembde,  l^dan, 
Isbdde. 

Syncopation  occurs  even  in  verbs  with  originally  short 
radical  syllables  if  the  radical  syllable  ends  in  d  or  t :  hreddan, 
hredde;  settan,  sette. 

If  the  radical  syllable  ended  in  two  consonants,  the  latter 
of  which  was  d  or  t,  the  resulting  combination  was  simplified: 
wendan,  wende;  f^estan,  faeste. 

431.  III.  In  the  past  participle,  syncopation,  assimilation, 
and  simplification  occurred  if  the  radical  syllable  ended  in  d  or 
t :  hreddan,  hred ;  settan,  set ;  liedan,  Ised ;  metan ;  met,  wendan ; 
wend,  faestan,  faest ;  also  in  nemnan,  nemd.  Unsyncopated 
forms  with  -ed,  however,  occur  rather  frequently  in  the  past 
participle  of  these  verbs. 

First  Weak  Verbs  "Without  Middle  Vowel" 

432.  Certain  weak  verbs  of  Class  I  exhibit  no  umlaut  in 
the  preterit  and  past  participle.     In  Prim  Gmc  these  verbs 


188 


REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 


had  -j-  or  -i-  in  the  present,  but  had  no  -i-  in  the  Pret.  and 
Past  Part.     See  146. 

Representative  verbs  are: 


tellan,  count 

tealde 

teald 

sellan,  give 

sealde 

seald 

cwellan,  kill 

cwealde . 

cweald 

stellan,  place 

stealde 

steald 

bycgan,  buy 

bohte 

boht 

cweccan,  shake 

cweahte, 

cwehte 

cweaht,  cweht 

reccan,  narrate 

reahte 

reaht,  reht 

streccan,  stretch    streahte, 

strehte 

streaht,  streht 

r£ecan,  reach 

rahte,  riehte 

raht,  r^ht 

t^can,  teach 

tahte,  tiehte 

taht,  tseht 

secan,  seek 

sohte 

soht 

Wyrcan,  work 

worhte 

worht 

l^encan,  think 

}7ohte 

]>oht 

l>yncan,  seem 

]>uhte 

I>uht 

brengan. 

brohte 

broht 

bringan,  bring 

433.     Conjugation 

of  tellan, 

count,  secan,  seek,  bycgan, 

buy,  }>encan,  think,  in 

present  indicative: 

Sing.  1          telle 

sece 

bycge 

l^ence 

2         telest 

secst,  secest     by^est 

l^encst,  ))encest 

3         tele]) 

secj),  secej) 

by^e]> 

]7encl>,  l>encel> 

Plu.  1,  2,  3  tellaj) 

seca]) 

bycgaj) 

]>enca)> 

Second  Weak  Verbs 

434.  Second  weak  verbs  in  Gmc  had  a  stem  ending  in  -o-, 
as  appears  from  Goth  salbon,  OHG  salbon,  anoint.  In  OFris, 
OS,  and  OE,  however,  the  ending  -jan  (-jo,  -janj>,  etc.)  is  added 
to  the  stem  *salb6-,  giving  Prehist  OE  *salbojan ;  this,  by  umlaut 
of  the  o,  became  *sealfejan>*sealfejan>*sealfijan>sealfian. 


CONJUGATION— WEAK  VERBS 


189 


435.     The  conjugation  of  bodian,  proclaim,  together  with 
the  Prehist  OE  forms,  follows: 

INDICATIVE 

Present 


Prehist  OE 

OE 

Sing,  1 

*bod6ju 

bodie 

2 

*bod6s 

bodas(t) 

3 

♦bodot 

boda}) 

Plu.   1,  2,  3 

*bod5janl) 

Preterit 

bodia}) 

Sing.  1 

*bodode 

bodode 

2 

*bod6des 

bododest 

3 

*bod6de 

bodode 

Plu.  1,  2,  3 

*bododun 

bododon,  bodedon^' 

SUBJUNCTIVE 

Present 

Sing.  1,  2,  3 

*bod6je 

bodie 

Plu.   1,  2,  3 

*bodojen 

Preterit 

bodien 

Sing.  1,  2,  3 

*bodode 

bodode 

Plu.   1,  2,  3 

*bod5deii 

bododen 

IMPERATIVE 

J 

Sing.  2 

*bodo 

boda 

Plu.    1 

*bodojan 

bodian 

2 

*bod6janl> 

bodia}) 

Infin. 

*bod6jan 

bodian 

Gerund 

to  *bod5janiije 

to  bodienne 

Pres.    Part. 

*bodojandi 

bodiende 

Past.    Part. 

*bodod 

bodod 

^  The  middle  vowel  -o-  often  became  e  when  the  vowel  of  the  next  syllable 
was  a,  o,  or  u;  it  remained  o,  however,  when  the  vowel  of  the  next  syllable  was 
e.  This  explains  the  variation  that  we  find  between  bodode  and  bodedon; 
and  between  heofones,  Gen.  Sing.,  and  heofenas,  Nom.  Plur. 


190  REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 

Third  Weak  Verbs 

436.  Third  weak  verbs  in  Gmc  had  a  stem  ending  in  -ai-, 
as  appears  in  Goth  2d  and  3d  Sing.  Pres.  Indie,  habais ;  habai]?, 
have;  Pret.  habalda,  had;  OHO  haben  (<*habam).  In  OFris, 
OS,  and  OE  the  verbs  originally  belonging  to  the  third  class 
have  been  so  widely  and  thoroughly  influenced  by  analogy  with 
the  first  and  second  classes  that  practically  no  traces  of  the 
Gmc  conjugation  remain. 

(1)  Some  verbs,  like  faestan,  make  firm,  (cf.  OHG  fasten), 
have  completely  "gone  over"  to  the  first  weak  verbs. 

(2)  Some  verbs,  like  tilian,  strive  (cf.  OHG  zilen),  have 
completely  "gone  over"  to  the  second  weak  verbs. 

(3)  Some  verbs,  like  fyl^ean,  folgian,  follow,  exhibit,  in 
one  set  of  forms,  umlaut  and  the  endings  of  the  first  weak  verbs, 
as  in  fyl^ean,  and,  in  another  complete  set  of  forms,  no  umlaut 
and  the  endings  of  the  second  weak  verbs,  as  in  folglan. 

(4)  A  few  verbs,  habban,  have;  Hbban,  live;  secgan,  say; 
hycgaii)  think;  and  contract  verbs  like  )>reagaii,  rebuke;  freeman) 
free,  are  usually  so  conjugated  in  WS  as  to  deserve  to  be  regarded 
as  still  a  separate  conjugation. 

437.  The  principal  parts  of  ]>rea^aii,  rebuke,  and  freoian, 
free,  are: 

}>rea§an  \>reade  ])read 

Ireo^an  freode  freed 

The    present    indicative    forms    are:  })rea^e,    l^reast,    l>rea)>, 
Plu.  t>rea|a});  freogje,  freest,  freej>,  Plu.  freega}>. 

438.  Conjugation  of  habban,  have,  libban,  live,  secgan,  say: 

INDICATIVE 
Present 

Sing.  1  haebbe  libbe,  Hfge  secge 

2  haefst,  hafast  liefast  sae^st,  sagast 

3  hxl\>^  haia\>              Hefa}>  S£egl>,  sagal> 
Plu.    1,  2,  3  habbal>,  haebba))      libbal>,  lif^aj)  secga]) 


CONJUGATION— WEAK  VERBS  191 


Preterit 

Sing.  1,  3       haefde 

lifde 

sae§de 

2       haefdest 

lifdest 

sae^dest 

Plu.  1,  2,  3  haefdon 

lifdon 

SUBJUNCTIVE 

Present 

sae^don 

Sing.              hasbbe 

libbe,  lif^e 

secge 

Plu.               haebben 

libben,  lif  ^en 

Preterit 

secgen 

Sing.              haefde 

lifde 

sae^de 

Plu.               haefden 

lifden 

sae^den 

IMPERATIVE 

Present 
Sing.   2  hafa  liofa  saga,  sae^ie 

Plu.    2  habba}?  libbab,  lif^al)     secga]> 

INFINITIVE 
habban  libban,  lif  ^an     secgan 

PRESENT  PARTICIPLE 
haebbende  libbende,  lif^ende  secgende 

PAST  PARTICIPLE         . 
haefd  lifd  8ae|d 

Forms  with  gemination  (haebbe,  libbe,  secge,  etc.)  show 
that  they  derive  from  Gmc  -j-  forms,  *habjai,  *libjai,  *8a)jai. 


192 


REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 


Forms  with  -a-  in  the  ending  (hafa)?,  hafa,  etc.)  show  that 
they  derive  from  prehistoric  -5-  forms. 

Forms  like  haefde,  hfefd,  etc.,  are  like  such  first  weak  forms 
as  tealde,  teald,  which  lack  a  middle  vowel  in  the  preterit  and 
past  participle. 

Preteritive-Present  Verbs 

439.  The  Preteritive-Present  Verbs  were  originally  strong 
verbs.  The  original  strong  preterits,  however,  have  the  mean- 
ing of  the  present  tense  in  OE  and  other  Gmc  languages,  while 
a  new  weak  preterit  has  been  formed  to  signify  past  time.  For 
details  see  175-177. 

440.  Since  these  verbs  not  only  originally  belonged  to 
various  classes  of  strong  verbs,  but  still  show  the  class  to  which 
they  belong,  they  may  be  grouped  as  follows: 


Origi- 
nal 
Series 
I. 
I. 
II. 
III. 
III. 

III. 
III. 
IV. 
IV. 
V. 

V. 

VI. 


Verb 


Pres.  3  Sing. 
(Old  Str. 

Pret.) 
ah 
wat 
deag 
ann,  onn 
cann,  conn 


agan,  possess 
wltaO)  know 
dugan,  avail 
unnan,  grant 
cunnan,    know, 

be  able 
)>urfan,  need  \>eari 

durran,  dare  dearr 

sculan,  be  obliged  sceal 
munan,  remember  man,  men 
magan,  be  able       mx^ 


(^e)nugan,  suf- 
fice 

motan,  be  per- 
mitted 


neah 


m5t 


Pres.  Plu. 

(Old  Str. 
Pret.) 
agon 
witon 
dugon 
unnon 
cunnon 

]7urfon 
durron 
sculon 
munon 
magon 

nugon 

moton 


Pret.  3  Sing. 
(New  Weak 

Pret.) 
ahte 


wisse, 
dohte 
ut)e 
cu]>e 

\>orlte 

dorste 

sceolde 

munde 

meahte, 

mihXe 

nohte 

moste 


wiste 


CONJUGATION— PRETERITIVE-PRESENT  VERBS 
441.  Conjugation  of  witan,  cunnan,  sculan,  magan: 
INDICATIVE 


193 


Present 

Sing. 

1 

wat 

cann,  conn 

sceal 

mael 

2 

wast 

canst,  const 

scealt 

meaht 

3 

wat 

cann,  conn 

sceal 

m«i 

Plu. 

witon 

cunnon 

Preterit 

sculon 

magan 

Sing. 

1 

wisse,  wiste 

cu)7e 

sceolde 

meahte, 
mihte 

2 

cul^est 

sceoldest 

meahtest, 
mihtest 

3 

wisse,  wiste 

cul)e 

sceolde 

meahte, 
mihte 

Plu. 

wisson, 
wiston 

cu}»on 

sceoldon 

meahton, 
mihton 

SUBJUNCTIVE 

Present 

Sing. 

wite 

cunne 

scyle, 
scule 

mieie, 
muge 

Plu. 

witen 

cunnen 

Preterit 

scylen, 
sculen 

mae^en, 
mugen 

Sing. 

wisse, 
wiste 

cube 

sceolde 

meahte, 
mihte 

Plu. 

wissen, 
wisten 

cu}>en 

sceolden 

meahten, 
mihten 

194  REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 

IMPERATIVE 

Sing.  wite 

Plu.  wital> 

Infin.  witan  cuimaii             sculan         magan 

Gerund  t5  witenne,  to  cannenne» 

-anne ,  -anne 

Pres.  Part,  witende  cunnende                            magende 

Past  Part,  when  cunnen,  cu]> 

Anomalous  Verbs 

442.  The  four  "anomalous"  verbs  are  thus  termed  because 
no  one  of  them  can  be  classified  with  any  of  the  other  groups  of 
verbs.    They  are  been  (wesan),  be;  don,  do;  gan,  go;  willan,  will. 

beon,  is,  wesan 

443.  beon,  is,  wesan,  were  originally  three  independent 
verbs,  with  the  IE  roots  ""bheu,  *e8/os,  *we8/wo8,  various 
forms  of  which  became  joined  in  Gmc  to  make  a  complete 
"composite"  conjugation. 


INDICATIVE 

Singular 

Plural 

1 

eom ;  beo 

1,2,3 

sindon,  sind,  sint; 
beob; wesab 

2 

eart;  bist 

3 

is;  bib 

Preterit 

1 

wses 

1,2,3 

wieron 

2 

wjere 

3 

WffiS 

CONJUGATION— ANOMALOUS  VERBS  195 

SUBJUNCTIVE 

Present 
1,  2,  3    sie;  beo  sien;  beon 

Preterit 
1,  2,  3    w£ere  wseren 

IMPERATIVE 

2        beo;  wes  beol>;  wesa]? 

Infin.      beon,  wesan  Pres.  Part,     beonde,  wesende 

Gerund    to  beonne 

eom,  eart,  is,  belong  to  the  IE  base  *es/o8,  which  appears 
in  Lat  forms  such  as  es-se,  es,  est. 

8-ind(on),  etc.,  belong  to  the  IE  base  *es/o8,  which  appears 
in  Lat  forms  such  as  s-unt. 

beo,  etc.,  belong  to  the  IE  base  *bheu,  which  appears  in 
Lat  forms  such  as  fui. 

In  the  present  indicative,  eom,  eart,  is,  sindon  are  used  to 
signify  present  time,  beo,  bist,  bi|>,  beo])  are  used  usually  to 
aigniiy  future  time. 

don 
444.     don,  do: 


INDICATIVE 

SUBJUNCTl 

VE 

Pres. 

Pret. 

Pres. 

Pret. 

Sing.  1    do 

dyde, 
dsede 

1,2,3    do 

dyde 

2    dest 

dydest 

3    det> 

dyde, 
diede 

Plu.        d5l> 

dydon, 
dsbdon 

1,  2,  3    don 

dydei 

196 


REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 


Sing.  2    do 

Plu.  2          d6l> 

Infin.      don 

Pres.  Part.  d5nde 

Gerund  to  donne 

Past  Part,    don 
gan 

445.     gan,  go. 

INDICATIVE 

SUBJUNCTIVE 

Pres. 

Pret. 

Pres. 

Pret. 

Sing.   1  ga 

code 

1,2,3    ga 

eode 

2  g£est 

eodest 

3  gseb 

eode 

Plu.        gal> 

eodon 

gan 

eodei 

IMPERATIVE 

Sing.  2    ga 

Plu.  2           gal> 

Infin.      gan 

Gerund  to  ganne 

1 

Past  Part,    gan 
wiWan 

446.     willan,  wish,  will. 

INDICATIVE 

Pres.  Pret. 

Sing.   1  wille  wolde 

2  wilt  wolde  st 

3  wile,  wille  wolde 
Plu.         wiilah  woldon 
Infin.      willan 

Gerund  t5  willenne, 
-anne 


SUBJUNCTIVE 
Pres.  Pret. 

1,  2,  3    wille  wolde 


willen 
Pres.  Part,  willende 


wolden 


GLOSSARY 


The  order  of  words  is  alphabetical;  x  and  &  are  placed  between  ad  and 
af,  \>  and  tJ  between  t  and  u.  Words  containing  a  which  interchanges  with  o 
(before  nasals)  are  given  with  the  a  form.  Strong  verbs  are  distinguished  by 
an  arabic  numeral  denoting  the  class  to  which  they  belong.  Weak  verbs  are 
distinguished  by  W.,  followed  by  a  Roman  numeral  indicative  of  their  class. 
Preteritive-present  verbs  are  marked  PP,  anomalous  verbs  A.  The  ab- 
breviations m.,  f.,  and  n.  stand  for  masculine,  feminine,  and  neuter. 

«t$elborenness,  f.,  nobility  of  birth 
tetJeling,    m.,    nobleman,    king's    son 
afeorsian,  W.II,  remove 
agan,  ah,  agon,  ahte,  PP.,  own 
a|ean,  prep.,  against,  towards 
a^eotan,   a^eat,   aguton,   agoten,   2, 

pour 
agieldan,  a^eald,  aguldon,  agolden,  3, 

pay,  yield 
ahebban,   ahof,   ahofon,   ahafen,   6, 

raise,  lift  up 
ahte,  see  agan 
aUedan,  W.I,  lead,  bring 
aliefan,  W.I,  allow,  grant 
amierran,  W.I,  destroy 
an,  num.  and  indef.  art.,  one;  a,  an; 

ana  (weak  form),  alone 
and,  conj.,  attd 
andswarian,  W.II,  answer. 
andswani,  £.,  answer 
andweard,  adj.,  opposite,  present 
andwlita,  m.,  face 
andwyrdan,  W.I,  answer 
anlic,  adj.,  like 
anr^dness,  f.,  constancy 
artefnan,  W.I,  endure 
arteran,  W.I.,  raise 
197 


a,  adv.,  ever,  always 

abeodan,  abead,  abudon,  aboden,  2, 

announce,  offer,  command 
ac,  conj.,  but 
acwencan,  W.I,  quench 
adl,  f.,  disease 
tecer,  m.,  field,  acre 
tefestfull,  adj.,  envious 
sefesti^,  adj.,  envious 
tefestian,  W.II,  be  envious 
lefter,  prep.,  after 
£||>er,  adj.,  either,  each 
«ht,  £.,  property 
&\c,  adj.,  each 
£nli,  adj.,  any 

&T,  adv.,  conj.,  formerly,  before 
serwacol,  adj.,  early  awake 
ierest,  adv.,  first 
set,  prep.,  at,  from;  set  niehstan,  in  the 

next  place,  thereupon 
jet,  £ton,  see  etan 
feteowian,  W.II,  show,  appear 
aetiewan,  W.I,  show,  appear 
letbre^dan,  tetbrte^d,  letbrugdon,  xt- 

brogden,  3,  take  away 
AtSele,  adj.,  noble 


198 


REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 


iris,  see  irisan 

ireahte,  see  ireiian 

ireccan,   areahte,   areaht,  W.I,   tell 

iredlan,  W.II,  prepare,  find 

ireodian,  W.II,  redden,  blush 

irfiest,  adj.,  merciful,  kind,  gracious 

irisan,  iris,  irison,  irisen,  1,  arise 

irison,  see  irisan 

am,  see  iman 

isdan,  W.II,  cuk 

isendan,  W.I,  send 

istreahte,  see  astreccan 

istreccan,  astreahte,  istreaht,  W.I, 

stretch;  prostrate  oneself 
istyrian,  W.I,  stir,  move,  agitate 
itfnm,  m.,  son-in-law 
iweahte,  see  iweccan 
iweccan,     iweahte,     iweaht,     W.I, 

awake 
iwritan,  iwrit,  iwriton,  iwriten,  1, 

write 
iwnrtwafian,  W.II,  root  up 
ixian,  W.II,  ask 

B 
bed,  see  biddan 
bieman,  W.I,  burn 
bteron,  see  beran 
bim.  dat.  plur.,  both 
bit,  m.,  boat 
bit,  see  bitan 

be,  prep.,  concerning,  by,  according  to, 
beald,  adj.,  bold 
bealg,  see  belgan 
beancodd,  m.,  bean-pod 
bebeodan,  bebead,  bebudon,  bebo- 

den,    2,    offer,    entrust,    command, 

announce 
bebod,  n.,  command 
beboden,  see  bebeodan 


bebyr^an,  W.I,  bury 

beclyppan,  W.I,  embrace 

beciunan,  becom,  becomon,  becamen, 

4,  become,  come,  happen,  fall  among 
bedd,  n.,  bed 

befsestan,     W.I,     establish,     entrust, 

apply 
bebitan,  behet,  beheton,  behaten,  7, 

promise;  threaten 
belgan,    bealg,    bulgon,    bolgen,    3, 

swell,  become  angry 
belocen,  see  belucan 
belucan,  beleac,  belncon,  belocen,  2, 

lock 
bene,  f.,  bench 
beod,  m.,  table 
beon,  w£es,  wsron.  A,  be 
beorscipe,  m.,  feast 
beran,  bser,  b£ron,  boren,  4,  (ear 
bereafian,  W.II,  rob 
bem,  n.,  barn 
beseon,  beseah,  besiwon,  besewen* 

5,  see,  look  at,  look  up 
besorgian,  W.II,  be  sorry  for 
beswican,     beswac,    beswicon,     be- 

swicen,  1,  deceive,  overcome 
betst,  adv.,  best 
betweonum,  prep.,  between 
betweox,  prep.,  between 
betynan,  W.I,  enclose 
be|>encan,  be]>ohte,  be)>5ht,  W.I,  co>t- 

sider,  bethink 
be)>ohte,  see  be]>encan 
bewendan,  W.I,  turn 
biddan,  bsed,  biedon,  beden,  5,  pray, 

ask,  entreat 
bispell,  n.,  parable,  example 
bindan,  band,    bundon,    bunden,    3, 

birtd 
binnan,  prep.,  witHn 


GLOSSARY 


199 


bisii,  adj.,  busy 

bitan,  bat,  biton,  bit  en,  1,  bite 

bliss,  f.,  joy,  bliss 

blissian,  W.II,  rejoice 

blil)e,  adj.,  joyful,  merry 

boccrseft,  m.,  book-learning 

boda,  m.,  messenger 

bringan,   brohte,   broht,   W.I,   bring 

bro]>or,  m.,  brother 

bryd,  f.,  bride 

brydgoma,  m.,  bridegroom 

bur,  n.,  chamber 

burhsittende,  adj.,  city-dwelling 

buton,  prep.,  without,  except,  outside  of 

bycgan,  bbhte,  boht,  W.I,  buy 

byme,  f .,  coat  of  mail 
C 

camp,  m.,  batUe 

earn,  f.,  care,  trouble 

cealf,  n.,  calf 

ce aster,  f.,  city 

ceastergewaran,  plur.,  citizens 

ceosan,  ceas,  curon,  coren,  2,  choose 

ciepan,  W.I,  sell,  buy 

depend,  m.,  merchant 

cild,  n.,  child 

clipian,  W.II,  call 

cnibt,  m.,  young  man,  boy 

coccel,  m.,  tares 

com,  c5mon,  see  cuman 

crseft,  m.,  skill,  power,  strength,  accom- 
plishment 

croma,  m.,  crurnb 

cuma,  m.,  stranger,  guest 

cuman,  com,  c5mon,  cumen,  4,  come 

cunnan,   cann,   cunnon,   cutSe,   PP., 
be  able,  know  how,  know 

cwtedon,  cw{e}>,  see  cwet(an 

cweartem,  n.,  prison 

cwen,  f.,  woman,  queen 


cweSan,  cw«et>,  cw«don,  cweden,  5, 

say,  speak 
cwide,  m.,  saying,  statement 
cwiehnan,  W.I,  kill,  torment 
cynebebn,  m.,  crown 
cynelic,  adj.,  royal 
cyning,  m.,  king 
cyssan,  W.I,  kiss 
cyl^an,  W.I,  make  known 

D 

died,  f.,  deed 

d^dbot,  f.,  penance,  reparation 

d<e|,  m.,  day 

dieihwamlice,  adv.,  daily 

d«l,  m.,  share,  part 

dielan,  W.I,  divide,  give  out 

dead,  adj.,  dead 

deatS,  m.,  death 

delfan,  dealf,  dulfon,  dolfen,  3,  dig 

deorweor]),  adj.,  valuable,  precious 

deorwierlie,   adj.,    valuable,   precious 

diacon,  m.,  deacon 

dohtor,  f.,  daughter 

d5n,  dyde,  don,  do,  make 

dream,  m.,  joy,  noise  of  rejoicing 

dryht,  f .,  band  of  retainers 

dryhten,  m.,  lord 

duru,  f.,  door 

dwohna,  m.,  empty  space,  chaos 

dyde,  see  don 

dyppan,  W.I,  dip 

dysii,  adj.,  foolish 

E 

eac,  adv.,  also 
cage,  n.,  eye 
eala,  oh!,  alas 
eald,  adj.,  old 

ealdormann,    m.,    chief,    nobleman, 
magistrate  (the  ealdormann  of  each 


200 


REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 


shire  was  its  chief  judicial  officer 

and  the  leader  of  its  mQitary  forces; 

the  scir^erefa  or  sheriff  was  merely 

his  deputy) 
eall,  adj.,  all 

eall  8wa,  adv.,  even  so,  just  as 
earm,  m.,  arm 
earm,  adj.,  poor 
eat$e,  adv.,  easily 
ecg,  f.,  edge,  sword 
efenl>eowa,  m.,  fellow-servant 
efne,  behold! 
eft,  adv.,  again,  hack 
elcung,  f.,  delay 
ele,  m.,  oil 
el)>eodi^e8s,   f.,   life   in   a  foreign 

country 
ende,  m.,  end 
engel,  m.,  angel 
eode,  eodon,  see  gan 
eom,  first  person  pres.  ind.  of  been 
eorl,  m.,  chief,  nobleman,  magistrate 

(much  the  same  as  ealdormann) 
eort$tilia,    m.,    farmer,    husbandman 
etan,  £t,  £ton,  eten,  5,  eat 


feeder,  m.,  father 

fie^er,  adj.,  beautiful 

fjemne,  f.,  maiden 

fsringa,  adv.,  suddenly 

f«et,  n.,  vessei 

fffitt,  adj.,/a^ 

faran,  f5r,  foron,  faren,  6,  go 

feallan,  feoll,  feollon,  feallen,  7,  fall 

feawe,  plur.  adj.,  few 

feccan,  fette,  fett,  W.I,  fetch,  bring 

fela,  indecl.  n.,  much,  many 

feng,  fengon,  see  f5n 


feohtan,    feaht,    fuhton,    fohten,    3, 

fight 
feond,  m.,  enemy 
feorlen,  adj.,  distant,  remote 
feorr,  adj.,  far 
feorr,  prep.,  far  from 
feorran,  adv.,  from  afar 
feower,  num.,  four 
feran,  W.I,  go 
feSa,  m.,  troop 
fif,  num.,  five 
findan,  fand  (funde),  fundon,  funden, 

3,  find 
finger,  m..,  finger 
fisc,  m.,  fish 
fiscere,  m.,  fisherman 
Acta,  m.,  sailor 
folc,  n.,  people,  tribe,  folk 
folglan,  W.II,  follow,  serve,  join  one- 
self to 
f5n,  feng,  fengon,  fangen,  7,  seize, 

take,  catch 
for,  prep.,  for 
for  ]){em,  therefore,  because 
for  )>£em  |>e,  because 
forbaernan,  W.I,  burn  up 
forbQgan,    forbeag,    forbugon,    for- 

bogen,  2,  turn  away  from,  avoid 
fordon.  A.,  destroy 
foriiefan,    for^eaf,    for^eafon,    for- 

^efen,  5,  give,  forgive 
for^eldan,  for^eald,  forguldon,  for- 

golden,  3,  repay 
for^ieman,  W.I,  neglect,  despise 
forlietan,  forlet,  forleton,  forljeten,  7, 

leave,  abandon,  lose,  release 
forleosan,  forleas,  forluron,  forloreii> 

2,  lose,  destroy 


GLOSSARY 


201 


forlet,  forleton,  see  forlietan 
forliden,  adj.,  shipwrecked 
forlidenness,  f.,  shipwreck 
forniman,    fornam,    fomomon,    for- 

numen,  4,  seize,  destroy 
forspillan,  W.I,  waste,  destroy 
£or|>,  a.dv.,  forth,  out,  on 
for)>feran,  W.I,  die 
for|>rysmian,  W.II,  strangle,  choke 
for))teah,  see  for)>teon 
for)>teon,  for)>teah,   for);tugon,   iot\t- 

togen,    2,    bring    forth,    produce, 

exhibit 
forwandian,  W.II,  hesitate,  reverence 
forweartJ,  see  forweor'San 
forweor'San,     forwearl>,     forwurdon, 

forworden,  3,  perish 
forwlernan,  W.I,  restrain,  refuse 
lot,  m.,foot 
fram,  prep.,  from,  by 
freond,  m.,  friend 
frSfor,  m.,  consolation,  help,  joy 
fugol,  m.,  bird 
fuhton,  see  feohtan 
fyr,  n.,  fire 

G 

gaderian,  W.II,  gather 
g«lsa,  m.,  wantonness,  pride 
gan,  eode,  gan,  A.,  go 
gar,  m.,  spear 

^e^mettigian,  W.II,  be  at  leisure 
^eaf,  see  ^efan 
^ear,  n.,  year 
^earu,  adj.,  ready 
ieat,  n.,  gate 
^ebeorscipe,  va.,  feast 
^eberan,  ^ehser,  ^eb«ron,  ^eboren, 
4,  bear 


lebidan,  iebad,  ^ebidon,  iebiden,  1, 

wait,  get  by  waiting,  experience 

^ebllssian,  W.II,  rejoice 

iebrol)ru,  m.  plur.,  brothers 

^ebyrd,  f.,  birth 

^ebyrian,  W.I,  happen,  be  fitting,  per- 
tain 

lecelan,  W.I,  cool 

geceosan,  ^eceas,  ieciiron,  §ecoren, 
2,  choose 

iecie^an,  W.I,  call 

^ecneordness,  f.,  accomplishment 

iecweman,  W.I,  please 

iecyl>an,  W.I,  make  known 

^edafenian,  W.II,  be  fitting 

iedafenlic,  adj.,  suitable,  appropriate 

^ed5n,  ^edyde,  ^edon,  A.,  do,  ac- 
complish, cause,  make 

ieedcwician,  W.II,  revive 

geedniwian,  W.II,  renew,  restore 

^eendian,  W.II,  end 

^eendung,  f.,  end 

^efaran,  ^efor,  |eforon,  ^efaren,  6, 
go,  get  by  going,  experience 

^efeallan,  ^efeoll,  gefeollon,  |e- 
feallen,  7,  fail,  happen 

iefon,  iefeng,  ^efengon,  ^efangen,  7, 
take,  seize,  catch 

^efrefran,  W.I,  console,  comfort 

ieiyllan,W.l,fill 

^efym,  a.dv.,  formerly 

^egaderian,  W.II,  gather 

iegodian,  W.II,  enrich,  endow 

^e^ierela,  m.,  garment 

^ehabban,  W.III,  have 

^ehieran,  W.I,  hear 

^ehiersum,  adj.,  obedient 

^ehiersumian,  W.II,  obey 

iehyhtan,  W.I,  hope,  trust 


202 


REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 


^einnian,  W.II,  supply 

^einse^lian,  W.II,  seal 

^elsbdan,  W.I,  lead,  bring 

^el^ran,  W.I,  teach,  edticate 

^ela'Sian,  W.II,  invite 

ieleomlan,  W.II,  learn 

^elic,  adj.,  like 

^elice,  adv.,  similarly 

ieliefan,  W.II,  believe 

^elimp,  n.,  happening,  event,  fortune 

^elimpan,         ^elamp,         ^elumpon, 

^elumpen,  3,  happen 
ielufian,  W.II,  love 
ienuecca,  m.,  mate,  husband 
^emengan,  W.I,  mix,  combine 
iemetan,  W.I,  meet,  find 
^emlltsian,  W.II,  pity,  show  mercy 
^emiltsiend,  m.,  pitier 
^eneayecan,  ^enealshte,  ienealteht, 

W.I,  approach 
ieniman,    ^enam,    ^enomon,    §ena- 

men,  4,  take 
^en5h,  adj.,  enough,  abundant 
ieong,  adj.,  young 
^erad,  n.,  account,  audit 
ieradegian,  W.II,  call  to  an  account 
iereord,  n.,  food,  feast 
ierestan,  W.I,  rest 
iessbUi,  adj.,  happy,  blessed 
iesaet,  see  gesittan 
^esawon,  see  geseon 
iescrydan,  W.I,  clothe 
iescy,  n.,  pair  of  shoes 
^eseah,  see  geseon 
iesellan,    iesealde,    ieseald,    W.I, 

give,  give  up,  sell 
geseon,  ^eseah,  ^esawon,  ^esewen, 

5,  see  ^ 

^esettan,  W.I,  set,  provide,  establish 


gesittan,  ^esiet,  ies£ton,  ^eseten,  5, 

sit,  take  a  seat 
^estatSelian,  W.II,  establish 
^esund,  adj.,  unharmed,  healthy 
^eswencan,  W.I.,  afflict 
^eswerian,   |eswor,   ^esworon,   ^es- 

waren,  6,  swear 
^esyngian,  W.II,  sin 
^etxcan,  ^etahte,  ^etaht,  W.I,  teach, 

show 
^eteon,  ieteah,  §etugon,  ^etogen,  2, 

draw,  train,  educate  — 
^etimbrian,  W.II,  build 
ietrymman,  W.I,  prepare,  strengthen 
ie]>encaii,    ie)>ohte,    ie)»oht,    W.I, 

think 
iel^yld,  f.,  patience 
^e)>yldlgian,  W.II,  be  patient 
ieunrotsian,  W.II,  be  sad,  make  sad 
^ewendan,  W.I,  turn 
ieweortSan,  ^ewear)>,  ^ewurdon,  ^e- 

worden,  3,  become,  be  made,  happen 
^ewihte,  n.,  weight 
iewilnian,  W.II,  desire 
iewisslice,  adv.,  certainly 
^ewistfullian,  W.II,  feast 
^ewlstl^can,  W.I,  feast 
^ewitan,  ^ewat,  iewiton,  ^ewiten,  1, 

depart,  go 
^eworden,  see  ^eweorVan 
^ewrit,  n.,  writing,  letter 
^ewritan,  ^ewrat,  ^ewriton,  ^ewriten. 

1,  write 
^ewundian,  W.II,  wound 
^edd,  n.,  song,  speech,  tale,  saying 
^efan,  ^eaf ,  ^eafon,  iiefen,  5,  give 
iiefu,  f.,  gift,  grace 
pieman,  W.I,  desire 
^esthus,J^.,  guesthouse,  inn 


GLOSSARY 


203 


^iet,  adv.,  yet,  still 

iiestrand«i,  adv.,  yesterday 

gif,  conj.,  if 

^ifta,  f.  plur.,  marriage,  wedding 

gingra,  adj.,  comp.  of  geong 

gleaw,  adj.,  loise 

glengan,  W.I,  trim,  adorn 

God,  m.,  God 

god,  adj.,  good 

g5d,  n.,  good,  benefit,  property 

gold,  n.,  gold 

goldhord,  m.,  n.,  treasury 

greada,  m.,  bosom 

gretan,  W.I,  greet 

guma,  m.,  man,  warrior 

gylt,  m.,  guilt,  debt 


habban,   bsefde,   hxid,   W.III,   have 

haefde,  haefdon,  see  habban 

hielend,  m.,  savior 

hsrfest,  m.,  autumn,  harvest 

h«8,  f.,  command 

hie)>en,  adj.,  heathen 

bafoc,  m.,  hawk 

hal,  adj.,  whole,  sound 

ham,  m.,  home,  dwelling 

hand,  f.,  hand 

hatan,  het,  heton,  haten,  7,  command, 

name 
hatte,  passive  of  hatan,  be  named 
he,  heo,  hit,  pron.,  he,  she,  it 
heafod,  n.,  head 
healdan,  heold,  heoldon,  healden,  7, 

hold 
healf,  £.,  side,  half 
heaU,  f.,  haU 
hearpe,  f.,  harp 
hearpemeiel,  m.,  plectrum 
hearpestreng,  m.,  harpstring 


hearpian,  W.II,  play  the  harp 

hefii,  adj.,  heavy 

heU,  f.,  hell 

hebn,  m.,  helmet 

heofon,  m.,  heaven 

heofonlic,  adj.,  heavenly 

heold,  see  healdan 

heonon,  adv.,  hence 

heorte,  f.,  heart 

her,  adv.,  here 

herian,  W.I,  praise 

het,  see  hatan 

hider,  adv.,  hither 

hie,  nom.  ace.  plur.  of  he,  heo,  hit 

hild,  f.,  battle,  war 

hliefdi^e,  f.,  lady 

hlaf,  m.,  loaf,  bread 

hlaford,  m.,  lord,  master 

hlystan,  W.I,  listen,  hear 

hnappian,  W.II,  sleep,  nap 

hon,  heng,  hengon,  hangen,  7,  hang 

hord,  m.,  n.,  hoard,  treasure 

hrae'Se,  adv.,  quickly 

hrieman,  W.I,  cry  out 

bring,  m.,  ring 

hu,  adv.,  how 

bund,  m.,  dog 

bund,  n.,  hundred 

hungor,  m.,  hunger 

bus,  n.,  house 

hwa,  hwaet,  inter,  and  indef.  pron., 
who,  which,  what;  someone,  some- 
thing 

hwser,  adv.,  conj.,  where 

hwaet,  see  hwa 

bw^ete,  m.,  wheat 

hwanon,  adv.,  whence 

hwelc,  inter,  and  indef.  pron.,  which, 
what  kind  of;  someone 

hwon,  adv.,  somewhat,  a  little 


204 


REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 


hwy,  inst.  of  hwset,  why 

hyrling,    m.,    hireling,    hired   servant 

I 

ic,  pron.,  / 

idelhende,  adj.,  empty-handed 

ieldan,  W.I,  delay 

ieldra,  adj.,  comp.  of  eald 

ierfenuma,  m.,  heir 

ierfeweardness,  f.,  inheritance 

ierre,  adj.,  angry 

iertning,  m.,  farmer,  plowman 

ilc,  adj.,  same 

in,  adv.  and  prep.,  in,  into 

innan,  adv.  and  prep.,  within 

inne,  adv.,  within 

into,  prep.,  into 

irnan,  am,  urnon,  umen,  3,  run 

L 
lacnian,  W.II,  treat  with  medicine 
liece,  m.,  physician 
Uecehus,  n.,  hospital 
l^dan,  W.I,  lead,  bring 
be^,  see  licgan 

Ijeringnue^den,   n.,    {girt)   pupil 
las,  adv.,  less;  |>e  laes  |)e,  lest 
lietan,  let,  leton,  Ueten,  7,  let,  permit, 

leave,  abandon,  cause  to 
land,  n.,  land 
lange,  adv.,  long 

lar,  f.,  wisdom,  instruction,  learning 
lareow,  m.,  teacher,  master 
leaf,  f.,  permission 
lecgan,  lie^de,  Ue^d,  W.I,  lay 
leng,  adv.,  comp.  of  lange 
leof,  adj.,  dear 
leoht,  adj.,  light 
leohtfaet,  n.,  lamp 
leornian,  W.II,  learn 
leornung,  f.,  learning 


leotS,  n.,  song,  poem 

Ubban,  Ufde,  lifd,  W.III,  live 

liccian,  W.II,  lick 

licgan,  lie^,  l£gon,  le^en,  5,  lie 

lician,  W.II,  please 

liefan,  W.I,  allow,  permit 

lie^,  m.,  n.,  flame,  fire 

lif,  n.,  life 

litJ,  n.,  joint,  limb 

lufian,  W.II,  love 

lufu,  f.,  love 

lytel,  adj.,  Utile 

ly)>re,  adj.,  base,  wicked 

M 
mae^,  see  magan 
mie^den,  n.,  maiden 
mae^en,  n.,  strength 
magan,  maeg,  magon,  meahte  (mihte), 

PP.,  be  able 
man,  indef.  pron.,  one,  they 
mani^,  adj.,  many 
mann,  m.,  man 
mara,  adj.,  more 
miest,  adj.,  most 
meahte,  see  magan 
mece,  m.,  sword 
med,  f.,  reward,  meed 
micel,  adj.,  much,  great,  large 
mid,   prep.,   with,   accompanying,   by 

means  of;  mid  |»y  l»e,  when,  because 
midd,  adj.,  middle  of 
mildheortness,  f.,  mercy,  pity 
miltestre,  f.,  harlot,  prostitute 
vain,  poss.  adj.,  my,  mine 
misliclan,  W.II,  displease 
mis)>yncan,  mis|>uhte,  mis)>ulit,  W.I, 

appear  incorrectly 
mod,  n.,  mind,  heart,  courage,  pride 
morgen^iefu,  f.,  gift  from  husband  to 

wife  on  morning  after  wedding 


GLOSSARY 


205 


motan,  m5t,  moton,  moste,  PP.,  be 

permitted 
marcnung,  f.,  grief,  complaint 

N 

na,  adv.,  no,  not,  never 

nabban,  contraction  of  ne  habban 

niefre,  adv.,  never 

nxte,  contraction  of  ne  w«re 

nam,  namon,  see  niman 

nama,  m.,  name 

nan,  adj.,  pron.,  no,  none,  no  one 

nat,  contraction  of  ne  wat 

ne,  adv.,  not 

ne,  con],,  adv.,  nor 

neab,  adv.,  adj.,  near 

nemnan,  W.I,  name 

need,  f.,  desire,  zeal,  earnestness 

nese,  adv.,  no 

niehst,  adj.,  superlative  of  neah; 
set  niehstan,  in  the  next  place,  there- 
upon 

nieten,  n.,  animal 

niht,  f.,  night 

niman,  nam,  nomon,  numen,  4,  take 

niste>  contraction  of  ne  wiste 

nolde,  contraction  of  ne  wolde 

Nor)>mann,  m.,  Northman 

nO,  adv.,  conj.,  now,  now  that 

O 

of,  prep.,  from,  away  from,  out  of, 

concerning,  of 
ofer,    prep.,    over,    above,    concerning 
oferbrsedan,  W.I,  cover 
ofercuman,  ofercom,  of ercomon,  ofer- 

cumen,  4,  overcome 
oferr^dan,  W.I,  read  thru 
ofersawan,    oferseow,    oferseowon, 

ofersawen,  7,  sow  over,  oversow 


oferseow,  see  ofersawan 

ofslean,  ofsloh,  ofslogon,  ofslagen,  6, 

kill 
oftrsedlice,  Sidv.,  frequently 
ofjjyncan,  of|>uhte,  of}>uht,  W.I,  seem 

amiss,  displease 
on,  prep.,  adv.,  on,  in,  into,  among 
onjelan,  W.I,  kindle,  ignite,  inflame 
oncnawan,  oncneow,  oncneowon,  on- 

cnawen,  7,  recognise,  perceive,  know 
ondr^dan,    ondred,    ondredon,    on- 

dr^den,  7,  fear 
onfeng,  see  onfon 
onfon,  onfeng,  onfengon,  onfangen, 

7,  take,  receive 
ongann,  see  on  Rinnan 
on^ean,  prep.,  opposite,  in  front  of, 

against,  towards 
on^ietan,  on^eat,  on^eaton,  on^eten, 

5,  perceive,  understand 
onginnan,    ongann,    ongannon,    on- 

gunnen,  3,  begin 
ongunnon,  see  onginnan 
otJ,  prep.,  conj.,  up  to,  as  far  as,  till, 

until 
5]>er,  adj.,  second,  next,  other 


pening,  m.,  penny  {silver  coin  about 

the  size  of  American  dime) 
plantian,  W.II,  plant 
plega,  m.,  quick  movement,  game,  play 
plegian,  W.II,  play 
pund,  n.,  pound  (weight  or  money) 
purpure,  f.,  purple  robe 


rsedan,  W.I,  read 

reaf,  n.,  booty,  wealth,  dress 


206 


REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 


reahte,  see  reccan 

reccan,  reahte,  reaht,  W.I,  explain, 

tell,  count 
rice,  n.,  kingdom,  country 
rfcelice,  adv.,  sumptuously 
ripere,  m.,  reaper 

riptima,  m.,  time  of  reaping,  harvest 
rose,  f.,  rose 
mdu,  f.,  redness,  blush 


sacerd,  m.,  priest 

B&f  i.,  m.,  sea 

sJed,  n.,  seed 

sieide,  sie^don,  see  secgan 

a&l^,  i.,  happiness,  good  fortune 

siet,  steton,  see  sittan 

samcwic,  adj.,  half -alive 

sang,  m.,  song 

sir,  n.,  pain,  wound,  grief 

sarlic,  adj.,  painful 

sarlice,  adv.,  painfully,  with  grief 

samess,  f.,  pain,  grief 

sawan,  seow,  seowon,  sawen,  7,  sow 

scamfsst,  adj.,  modest 

scamu,  f.,  shame,  modesty 

scan,  see  scuum 

8cat(a,  m.,  criminal,  thief 

sceafnuelom,  adv.,  sheaf  by  sheaf 

sceolde,  see  sculan 

sdnan,  scan,  scinon,  scinen,  1,  shine 

scipflota,  m.,  sailor,  pirate 

scop,  m.,  scop,  gleeman,  poet 

scrud,  n.,  dress,  garment 

scrydan,  W.I,  dress 

sculan,  sceal,  scidon,  scolde  (sceolde), 

PP.,  be  under  obligation,   owe,   be 

about  to 
se,  seo,  l>iet,  demon,  pron.  and  def. 

art.,  that,  the 


sealde,  see  sellan 

seats,  m.,  pit,  cistern,  ivinevat 

seax,  n.,  knife,  short  sword 

secan,  s5hte,  soht,  W.I,  seek,  visit, 

goto 
secgan,    ss^de,    steid,    W.III,    say 
self,  adj.,  self,  same 
sellan,  sealde,  seald,  W.I,  give 
selest,  superl.  adj.,  best 
selra,  comp.  adj.,  better 
sendan,  W.I,  send 
seolfor,  n.,  silver 
seow,  see  sawan 
setl,  n.,  seat 
settan,  W.I,  set 
simle,  adv.,  always 
singan,    sang,    sungon,    sungen,    3, 

sing 
sittan,  stet,  sseton,  seten,  5,  sit 
si];|>an,  adv.,  conj.,  afterwards;  after, 

since 
slacian,  W.II,  delay,  put  ojf 
sl^pan,  slep,  slepon,  slilpen,  7,  sleep 
slepon,  see  sl^pan 
smeade,  see  smea^an 
smea^an,    smeade,    smead,    W.III, 

investigate,  inquire  into 
smearcian,  W.II,  smile 
sona,  adv.,  immediately;  sona  swa, 

as  soon  as 
sorg,  f.,  sorrow 
s5b,  n.,  truth 
so{>lice,  adv.,  truly,  verily 
sped,  f.,  success,  opportunity,  abun- 
dance, wealth 
sprtec,  f.,  speech 
standan,   st5d,    stodon,   standen,   6, 

stand 
stefn,  f.,  voice 
stiepel,  m.,  tower 


GLOSSARY 


207 


stierc,  m.,  calf 

stille,  adj.,  at  rest,  silent 

stilness,  f.,  quiet 

8t5w,  f.,  place 

street,  f.,  road,  street 

sum,  adj.,  pron.,  some;  someone,  a 

certain  one 
sunne,  f.,  sun 
sunn,  m.,  son 
8wa,  adv.,  50,  as;  swa  hwaet  swi, 

whatever 
swang,  see  swingan 
8we^,  m.,  noise,  sound,  music 
swe^crteft,  m.,  musical  skill,  music 
swelce,  adv.,  conj.,  likewise;  as  if 
sweord,  n.,  sword 
swerian,   swor,   sworon,   swaren,   6, 

swear 
swi^e,  f.,  silence 
swigian,  W.II,  be  silent 
swin,  n.,  swine,  pig 
swingan,  swang,  swungon,  swungen, 

3,  beat,  strike 
switSe,  adv.,  exceedingly,  very 
syngian,  W.II,  sin 


tsecan,  tahte,  taht,  W.I,  teach,  show 
t£lan,  W.I,  blame,  censure 
tear,  m.,  tear 

'  teon,  teah,  tugon,  togen,  2,  draw,  pull 
teona,  m.,  injury 
ticcen,  n.,  kid 

Cd,  f.,  titne,  season,  hour,  day,  occasion 
fien,  num.,  ten 
tilia,  m.,  farmer,  farm  laborer 
tima,  m.,  time,  occasion 
tintre^,  n.,  torment 
tintregian,  W.II,  torture,  torment 


to,  prep.,  to,  at 
to,  adv.,  too 
todte^,  adv.,  today 
togaedere,  adv.,  together 
to^eanes,  prep.,  towards 
tun,  m.,  enclosure,  estate,  farm 
tunge,  f.,  tongue 
twe^en,  tni,  tu,  num.,  two 
twentil,  num.,  twenty 
tweonlan,  W.n,  doubt 
twin,  n.,  linen 

]mI,  adv.,  conj.,  then,  when 

l>«r,  adv.,  conj.,  there,  where 

|>£eron,  adv.,  thereon,  therein 

}>(et,  conj.,  that 

l>ancian,  W.II,  thank 

l>anon,  adv.,  thence 

|»e,  rel.  pron.,  who,  whom,  which,  that 

J>eah,  adv.,  conj.,  tho,  altho;  however, 

nevertheless 
Resale,  adv.,  severely,  exceedingly 
}>e^ung,   f.,   service,   retinue,   meal, 

first  course 
|»eow,  m.,  servant 
];eow,  adj.,  not  free,  serving 
l^eowa,  m.,  servant 
|>eowian,  W.II,  serve 
)>es,  l>eos,  ]ns,  demon,  pron.,  this 
\nn,  poss.  adj.,  thy,  thine 
|>ing,  n.,  thing;  plur.,  business,  affairs, 

properly 
l>onne,  adv.,  conj.,  then,  when 
|>onne,  conj.,  than 
)>rie,  ))reo,  num.,  three 
|>u,  pron.,  thou 
I>arh,  prep.,  thru,  by 
t>us,  adv.,  thus 
|>asend,  num.,  thousand 


206 


REFERENCE  GRAMMAR 


|»ylli6,  adj.,  such 

byncan.  )>uhte,  |>uht,  W.I,  seem, 
appear 

U 

tinderfSn,  underfeng,  underfengon, 
underfangen,  7,  receive 

nnderstandan,  understod,  understo- 
don,  understanden,  6,  understand 

unforwandiendlice,  adv.,  without  bash- 
fulness 

un^ecnawen,  adj.,  unknown 

nn^ellmp,  n.,  misfortune 

un^ewunelic,  adj.,  unaccustomed 

unhold,  adj.,  faithless,  hostile 

uorot,  adj.,  sad 

unstille,  adj.,  restless 

up,  upp,  adv.,  up 

uppan,  prep.,  on,  upon 

Ore,  p>oss.  adj.,  our,  ours 

ut,  adv.,  out 

uton,  let  us  (with  infinitive) 

W 

w£dla,  m.,  poor  man 

wiestm,   m.,   growth,  increase,  fruit, 

crop 
wteter,  n.,  water 
wat,  see  witan 
wamb,  f.,  bdly,  stonuich 
we,  nom.  plur.  of  ii 
weall,  m.,  wall 
wearp,  see  weorpan 
wear's,  see  weortSan 
weax,  n.,  wax 
weaxan,  weoz,  weoxon,  weaxen,  7, 

grow,  increase 
wei,  m.,  way 
wel,  adv.,  weU 
weli^  adj.,  wealthy 


welwillendness,  f.,  benevolence 
wenan,  W.I,  expect,  hope,  believe,  think 
weorpan,  wearp,  wurpon,  worpen,  3, 

cast,  throw 
weorpan,  wear}>,  wurdon,  worden,  3, 

become,  be  made,  happen 
weor)>full,  adj.,  worthy,  honorable 
weortJlic,  adj.,  honorable 
weortflice,  adv.,  honorably 
weort>scipe,  m.,  dignity,  honor 
weox,  see  weaxan 
wer,  m.,  man 

werod,  n.,  mtdtitude,  troop,  army 
wesan,  waes,  wieron,  5,  be,  exist 
wier|>e,  adj.,  worthy,  honorable 
wif,  n.,  woman,  wife 
•m^,  n.,  war,  battle 
willa,  m.,  will,  wish 
willan,  wolde.  A,  will,  wish 
wilnian,  W.II,  desire,  wish 
win,  n.,  wine 
winieard,  m.,  vineyard 
wis,  adj.,  wise 
witan,    wat,    witon,    wisse    (mstc), 

PP.,  know 
witega,  m.,  prophet,  mse  man 
witnere,  m.,  torturer 
witodlice,  adv.,  truly,  verily,  certainly 
witJ,  prep.,  against,  opposite,  alongside 

of,  by 
witfutan,  adv.,  prep.,  outside 
wolde,  woldon,  see  willan 
wop,  m.,  weeping 
word,  n.,  word 

wraecUce,  adv.,  in  exile,  abroad 
writ(an,    wra]>,    wrilran,    wri]>en,    1, 

twist,  bind,  wrap 
wund,  f.,  wound 
wundrian,  W.II,  wonder 


GLOSSARY  209 

wunnng,  f.,  dwelling  Y 

wurdon,  see  weortSan  yfel,  adj.,  evil 

wynsum,  adj.,  pleasing,  pleasant  yfel,  n.,  evil 

wyrt,  f.,  vegetable,  plant,  root  yfele,  adv.,  ill,  badly 

ymbe,  prep.,  about,  concerning 
ymbsittend,  m.,  neighbor 


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